If you haven't been paying attention, it'll have been easy to miss that Nada Surf have been one of the most consistently great bands of the last three decades. The band's latest single, "In Front of Me Now," perfectly showcases that. It's just a solid alt-rock song done in Nada Surf's unique style. The new song shows growth in the band's sound. It sounds like a Nada Surf song, but instead of just resting on their name and catalog, they've pushed themselves forward and released a track that stands up with everything they've released before. How many bands have been around for thirty years and are still releasing new music that we can be genuinely be excited about?
Matthew Caws says of the band's new video:
“We know the pandemic is over, but we made a Covid-era video to save on gas. Made on location (i.e. where we live) in Cambridge, England, Sarasota, Florida, Ibiza, Spain, and Austin, Texas, we bring you ‘In Front of Me Now,’ my diary of not being a great multi-tasker and wanting to be present for everything from now on if possible.”
You can watch the video for "In Front of Me Now" below. Moon Mirror is due out September 13 on New West Records, and is available for pre-order here. For more on Nada Surf, check out the band's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
July 3 - Saint-Malô-du-Bois (Nantes), FR - Poupet Festival
August 2 - Crozon, FR - Bout du Monde Festival
August 3 - Olivenza, ES - Contempopranea Festival
October 2 - Washington, DC - Atlantis *
October 3 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts *
October 4 - New York, NY - Webster Hall *
October 5 - Boston, MA- The Paradise *
October 7 - Montreal, QC - Le Studio TD *
October 8 - Toronto, ONT - The Great Hall *
October 9 - Detroit, MI - El Club *
October 10 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall *
October 11 - Milwaukee, WI - Vivarium *
October 12 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line *
October 15 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile *
October 16 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom *
October 18 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall *
October 19 - Las Vegas, NV - When We Were Young Festival
October 20 - Las Vegas, NV - When We Were Young Festival
October 21 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up *
October 22 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom ~
October 23 - West Hollywood, CA - The Troubadour *
November 14 - Madrid, ES - La Riviera
November 15 - Bilbao, ES - Kafe Antzokia
November 16 - Zaragoza, ES - Las Armas
November 21 - Dublin, IE - Academy
November 22 - Manchester, UK - Gorilla
November 23 - London, UK - Islington Academy
November 24 - Luxembourg - Den Atelier
November 25 - Amsterdam, NL - Melkweg
November 26 - Brussels, BE - Botanique
November 27 - Cologne, DE - Carlswerk Victoria
November 29 - Paris, FR - Bataclan
November 30 - Lille, FR - Aeronef
December 1 - Hamburg, DE - Markthalle
December 2 - Berlin, DE - Metropol
December 3 - Munich, DE - Backstage Werk
December 4 - Vienna, AT - Arena
December 6 - Zurich, CH - Dynamo
December 7 - Milan, IT - Santeria Social Club
December 8 - Clermont-Ferrand, FR - La Cooperative de Mai
The latest single from Holiday Ghosts hearkens back to when pop music was weird. "Slipstream" will remind you of classic early alternative artists like Talking Heads, The Modern Lovers, and Violent Femmes, but it also has the 90's slacker vibe of Pavement and Beck. It turns into a crazily fun and just offbeat enough indie rock/pop song. You can watch the video for "Slipstream" below. West Bay Playroom , the new album from Holiday Ghosts, will be released February 15 on PNKSLM Recordings. The album was recorded in band member Sam Stacpoole's childhood home, specifically his old playroom. You can pre-order the album here . For more on Holiday Ghosts, check out their Facebook .
Photo by Alexa Viscius This may be Liam Kazar's debut single, but the Chicago based musician already has an impressive resume, having worked with Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, and others. "Shoes Too Tight" features childhood friend Spencer Tweedy on drums, Lane Beckstrom on bass, and Ohmme on vocals. It's an absurdly fun and groovy little song that is a party waiting to happen. What he gives us here is a timeless song that could truly have been released any time since the 1960's (ok... maybe not the 80's...) There are elements of classic rock, 60's crooners and R&B, indie rock, modern Americana... it's really just packed with everything in a cohesive song that maintains the vibe the entire way through. You can watch the video for "Shoes Too Tight" below. For more on Liam Kazar, check him out on Instagram and Twitter . He's also raising money on his Bandcamp for Constellation and The Hungry Brain. ...
Photo by Cecil Sykes Midnight Peg are an Edmonton, AB based band that are referred to as "madhouse punk." Their latest single, "Thirstland," is a just barely under control two minute burst of punk. You have guitar riffs that will make you think of At the Drive In, and somewhat spoken and yelled vocals which create a feeling of chaos throughout. This is a loud and angry track that is completely in your face. But, unlike most tracks this loud and punk based, "Thirstland" still keeps a sense of art in their music. Midnight Peg feel like a higher class of loud, angry punk rock. This one is great, with just enough of an emo undercurrent to make the song kind of melodic and almost palatable to a mainstream audience. You can listen to "Thirstland" below. Skinning is due out in October on Thousand Island Records. For more on Midnight Peg, check out the artist's website .