Let Go

I only recently came across Nada Surf having apparently had my head in the sand during the 90s. I blame the hoards of zombified boy bands with brylcreemed hair, that looked floppy but was rock hard to the touch... Anyway, having looked them up and then spotted the album cover as a thumbnail on YouTube, I was intrigued - I am a bit of a sucker for a good design, because it sometimes indicates that the band themselves have good creative tastes, which in turn impacts the music. Whether my theory is correct or not, this is an awesome album. There are some cracking tunes on it and although Hi-Speed Soul reminds me a little too much of Semisonic's Singing in my Sleep, all I can say is long live Nada Surf, who are due to release a new album next month. Matthew Caws is just a great songwriter and his voice is very soothing to listen to. With a range of songs which cover different areas of the alt genre, this is a great starting point for fans of similar bands and as a whole it doesn't disappoint.

Great album from a great live band!

This has to be the best CD Nada Surf has made up to this date. Songs like 'Inside of love', 'Black on blonde', 'Blizzard of 79' and 'Happy Kid' are songs you want to play again and again. This album is strong as a whole. There are no weak songs although the cover of a French song is not that good. That is the only exception though. Pure gold.

Simply a beautiful album. Have re-discovered this after a recent sort out of cd's and it sounds just as fresh today as it did in 2002. The songs carry wonderful melodies and real emotional depth. From the gorgeous "blonde on blonde" and "inside of love" to the more up-beat and infectious "high-speed soul" the album is full of real gems. Similar in sound to snow patrol but a more melodic and textured sound. If you are a fan of intelligent guitar-led pop then you will love this wonderful album. Buy it.

As a fan of the first single, massive US and EU hit POPULAR, i bought hi/low and then the proximity effect and loved them both in their own unique way. They capture a kind of grunge rock rock that was happy and dramtic, whilst still rough and energetic. So what a suprise when I picked up Let Go. Rarely does a band shift genre so effortlessly, I even had to check the sleave to make sure it was the same line up. The bands history of tough deals from record companies explains their absence, but not the change in direction. Let Go features the kind of heart led accoustic honesty that is normally left to the oldies and the modern ne'er do wells. The single The way your head is probably as exitable as the band get on this album. That however is not a bad thing. The album opener, blizzard of 77, sets the theme for the album, which meanders beautifully from the calm of Happy Kid ("I'm just a happy kid"), to the almost sinister Killian's Red ("if i told you the truth, you wouldnt like what i said, i almost believed I was dead...there'll be no more crying tonight") , the lively Hi-Speed Soul and heavily influenced Blonde on Blonde. If you like bands like Third Eye Blind, Semisonic, and tv shows like Dawsons Creek, My So Called Life and Party of five, then you are like me. This means you will like this album. Your life (well...) will not be complete until you have drifted off to the end of the album's ecstatically under played and hook laden Treading Water and dreamy Paper Boats ("sit on a train, reading a book, same damn planet every time I look"). The band will be known by some for their one hit, but forget about that. This album is a new begining and a new direction for a great band. This album sits compfortably in my top ten, superseeding hundreds (thousands?) of other albums I have, including their first two offerings. I cannot recommend this more.

Love it! Takes me back to my heady student days.

I discovered Let Go after hearing the fabulous 'Blonde on Blonde' on the soundtrack to the German film 'Summer Storm' - I was convinced that it was Josh Rouse, but waited for the end of the credits to see that it was these guys. There are two other brilliant songs here, 'Blizzard of 77' and 'Inside of Love': all three are absolutely as good as pop music gets, managing to be both personal and universal at once and doing what Neil Tennant said that all great pop should do, making you 'feel happy feeling sad'. There are other good tracks here, but this album is absolutely essential for these three songs alone.

With every listen to Let Go, you'll become angrier and angrier that Nada Surf aren't filling stadiums. With the radio filled to the brim with kiddiepop and faceless FM rock, Nada Surf should be the saviours. Each of these luscious tracks comes with a soothing melody, deeply personal lyrics and Matthew Caws' fittingly soft voice. The acoustic Blizzard Of '77, rocky The Way You Wear Your Head and and whisper-soft Blonde On Blonde alone should be enough to elevate these lads to the Indie Big League, but every single song on here is a potential hit. Along with Death Cab For Cutie, Nada Surf are a low-key band you should give yourself a pat on the back for coming across. This may be a year old but it's lost absolutely none of its power. They're still obscure, but give them time...

Buono

I'm greatly irritated by the apparent lack of good music taste that some people (like Mr. Minnesota) have. There is but one way that I can believe that a person can be completely dissatisfied with this album and that is if that person bought the album expecting 10 or 12 tracks of "Popular". Realize that this is not the same grungy-era band of 1995 that produced the one-hit wonder "Popular". That band is virtually history and they have regrouped and produced some masterfully melodic work on their last two albums. As honest reviewers have already noted, Let Go is not of the same attitude as Proximity Effect. It provides a calmer, more reflective rainy afternoon feel. It's hard to point out "highlights" because every song on this album (even the usually worthless bonus tracks) is something special. Like on Proximity Effect, it is obvious that a lot of time was spent composing the melodies, perhaps one reason that some of this generation's clowns are dissatisfied with this album. If you buy this album, you will be treated to songs that actually stress elements of a musical effort, rather than a mixture of all-out distortion and fuzz with mind-numbing bass lines. Nada Surf is one of the few bands that has been able to mature from this sad, money-hungry garage band era. And for those who believe that Nada Surf "died etc," Nada Surf has developed a great following not only in the States, but even more so in Europe and it is unfortunate that such a talented group of hard-working artists have been plagued by the self-loving bussiness industry that is the modern-day music world. I'm not comparing Nada Surf to them, but recall the troubles of that little group called the BEATLES!!! Goes to show you that you cannot always trust the product that the industry yields...maybe your friends won't all have heard the songs or seen the videos, but... ...well, to make a long story short: DON'T DEPEND ON REVIEWS OR RATINGS TO MAKE YOUR DECISION FOR YOU!!! Listen to the clips...if at any point you want more, BUY IT, you won't be sorry!!!

Great album from a little known band

Lieferung wie angekündigt, gute Qualität.

"Let Go" est le meilleur album de Nada Surf, c'est aussi l'album qui a conféré au groupe une très grande maturité. l'ensemble des titres s'écoute d'une traite. Il n'y a aucune fausse note et toutes les chansons sont bien différentes. On a même droit à un titre en français. C'est un album que je recommande chaudement pour un groupe qui est beaucoup trop méconnu à mon goût. C'est un des rares groupes du début des années 90 continuant à jouer sur scène. Concernant le pressage vinyle, il est de bonne qualité. Comme tous les pressages chez Barzuk records, il faut un coup de nettoyage car on a toujours des petites poussières de papiers issus des mauvais sleeves US fournis. Utilisez une poire soufflante, ça fait son effet.