Nada Surf returns with Moon Mirror today via New West Records
Nada Surf Photograph by Paloma Bomé
Nada Surf returns with their anticipated new LP, Moon Mirror, today via New West Records. The 11-song set was produced by the band with Ian Laughton (Supergrass, Ash) and recorded at the legendary Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire, Wales. Moon Mirror is Nada Surf’s first album in four years and marks the 30th anniversary of their debut single, ‘The Plan’/’Telescope.’ Met with universal acclaim, Rolling Stone said “Moon Mirror is one of their best…” calling it “Nada Surf’s most musically and emotionally passionate album in years, on the level of gems like Let Go, The Weight Is A Gift, and The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy… a sterling tribute to the kind of inspiration that endures and deepens over the long haul.” Uncut Magazine called it “Masterful power pop with a cerebral core… the band’s deepest and most accomplished effort yet.” MOJO called it ‘Wonderful’ in their 4 Star review, while No Depression said “Moon Mirror represents a step forward for the band… one of the best albums of their long career.”
A thrilling and moving leap forward for the band, Moon Mirror is true to the human experience—as meaningful and mysterious and sometimes absurd as it is. These new songs thrum with love, grief, deep loneliness, doubt, wonder, and hope. There is hard-won wisdom and hard-won belief in possibility. It has everything fans love and expect from the band: play-on-repeat heart punches, poetic and thought-provoking musings on the world around them, and bittersweet anthems that begin quietly but explode into soaring harmonies.
Today, the band released the video for the new single ‘Second Skin,’ directed by Spencer Gentz, who also directed the band’s ‘Cold to See Clear’ video in 2016. Frontman Matthew Caws says the song “is about trying to be natural, how it can be a struggle at times, how there might be periods when you feel there’s part of yourself that you want to hide. It’s also about the way that can change over time. There were times in my youth when being fully seen, or even just more seen, would have felt too uncomfortable. Certainly when you’re really young, you need to be able to tell older people when you have a need or when you’re in distress, so they can help you. But I’ve found as I’ve gotten older that some alarm systems have been shutting themselves off. Maybe at some point your body doesn’t believe you’re so vulnerable anymore, that there’s no more danger, that you can just enjoy, because you’ve made it ok this far.” Watch the ‘Second Skin’ video here.
Long hailed as a must-see live act, Nada Surf will launch the first legs of their 2024 Moon Mirror world tour on 2nd October in Washington, DC. The tour also features an appearance at the When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas, where they will perform their 2002 fan favourite Let Go in its entirety. Supporting the US dates will be their New West labelmates, the acclaimed New Zealand-based indie-rock band Office Dog. The European leg of the tour will launch on 14th November in Madrid. Please see tour dates, with more to be added, below.
Nada Surf formed in New York City in 1992 and released their debut single, ‘The Plan’/’Telescope’ in 1994. They signed to Elektra Records and released their first full-length High/Low in 1996. Produced by Ric Ocasek of the Cars, High/Low was an instant hit based on the massive success of its lead single ‘Popular,’ but the band truly hit its stride in the 2000s, starting with the release of 2002’s Let Go. Anthemic, catchy, yet emotionally knotty, that album won them new fans and greater acclaim, and they built on both with each subsequent release, including 2005’s melancholic The Weight Is a Gift and the bone-raw The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy. Rather than summarize their celebrated career with a traditional greatest hits package, on 2016’s Peaceful Ghosts they recorded some of their most popular songs alongside the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg, one of the only remaining film orchestras in Western Europe.
Nada Surf is Matthew Caws (vocals, guitar), Daniel Lorca (bass, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), and Louie Lino (keyboards).
Nada Surf’s Moon Mirror is available across digital platforms, on compact disc, and standard black vinyl. A limited 2-LP Moon Mirror (Reflection) - Deluxe Edition is available on “Galaxy Splatter” colour vinyl and features a bonus LP including 10 original demos for the album. The Deluxe Edition is also available as a limited 2-CD version as well. A limited Opaque Jade colour vinyl edition including an orange flexi disc single featuring an exclusive, unreleased recording is available via Rough Trade. A limited coke bottle clear colour vinyl edition is available via Independent Retailers worldwide and NOW via New West Records.
Moon Mirror track listing:
1. Second Skin
2. In Front of Me Now
3. Moon Mirror
4. Losing
5. Intel and Dreams
6. The One You Want
7. New Propeller
8. Open Seas
9. X Is You
10. Give Me the Sun
11. Floater
Nada Surf on tour:
October 2 - Washington, DC - Atlantis * (Early Show Sold Out / Late Show Added)
October 3 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts *
October 4 - New York, NY - Webster Hall *
October 5 - Boston, MA- The Paradise *
October 6 - Middletown, CT - Harbor Park
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
* support from Office Dog
~ support from Blair Gun
