Nada Surf rides a 'Lucky' wave By sifting through past material, Nada Surf found inspiration for their latest album "Lucky."
by Niz Proskocil
Matthew Caws is a musical pack rat.
Over the past 10 years, the Nada Surf singer-guitarist and songwriter has amassed several dozen cassette tapes filled with bits of songs, half-finished verses and ideas.
When he set out to make the band's latest album, "Lucky," he revisited those tapes, listening and sifting through them for two months, looking for something that would spark inspiration.
His search eventually led to song fragments and instrumental parts that were "fully formed and exciting," Caws said by phone from Los Angeles a day after his band performed on "The Tonight Show."
New ideas, too, ended up in the 11 songs on "Lucky," the New York band's fifth record and third for Seattle indie label Barsuk Records.
"There's a line in 'Weightless' that's 10 years old," he said of the track that appears on the new album, as well as the recently released soundtrack to NBC's hit series "Heroes."
For Caws, who is joined in Nada Surf by drummer Ira Elliot and bassist Daniel Lorca, the songwriting process can be a bit frustrating. But it's also therapeutic.
"With songwriting, I can't force inspiration. You have to sit around and wait for it," he said. "Since so much of it is figuring out what makes me tick . . . if I don't write, I get this bottled-up feeling, this stagnant feeling."
Critical acclaim has followed the band throughout its career. Formed in 1992, the trio is known for its surging melodies, catchy riffs and wistful lyrics.
Caws, 40, said the bulk of recent set lists have featured material from the new album, 2005's "The Weight Is a Gift" and 2003's "Let Go."
"It might be fun for the audience if we dug up chestnuts we haven't played, but now that we have five records, it's so luxurious to pick our favorite songs."
