Gateway

Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: Arts & Leisure

From left, Daniel Lorca, Ira Elliot and Matt Caws make up Nada Surf. Originally formed in 1992, the trio has recently experienced a renaissance of success over the last three years. (Alicia J. Rose) [Click to enlarge]

They may not be as "Popular" as they were a decade ago, but time has been good to New York's indie-sensations, Nada Surf.

Hot off the heels of their fifth studio album, "Lucky," Nada Surf - made up of Matthew Caws, Daniel Lorca and Ira Elliot - returned to the metro Wednesday. The band last made an appearance in Omaha in support of their 2005 album, "The Weight is a Gift," which experienced modest success because of the college-radio hit "Always Love."

But the trio wasn't always mentioned in the same breath as bands like Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse and Keane. In fact, when the band's first major single, "Popular," was released in 1996, its massive air play on Top-40 radio and MTV had them sharing the stage with Weezer and The Verve.

While they could have been relegated to one-hit-wonder status, especially after their second album didn't produce well enough to meet Elektra Records' standards, the band cut their losses and moved on.

"We wrestled with that for a long time. It was a major issue," explained Elliot, Nada Surf's drummer, in an interview with the Gateway before the band's performance. "It's pretty amazing we survived through all that. I think we're just tenacious - you know … it's pretty stunning that we're able to continue on and have our music continue to be taken seriously and we're not just some joke band from the '90s."

The release of "Lucky" comes sixteen years after the band formed in 1992. As a result, many of the band's college-aged fans likely don't even remember when Nada Surf was, for lack of a better word, popular.

However, that hasn't stopped the band from earning a devoted fan base.

"I think that we sold like 9,000 records that first week which was a significant number," Elliot said about the success of "Lucky."

Continued...

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