The New York-based band, with a solid three-decade track record, arrives in Puerto de la Cruz on September 5th for the opening day of Phe Festival, with their tour presenting their latest album ‘Moon Mirror’.’
From their beginnings, the band has experimented with different musical elements, always seeking to maintain a balance between energy and melody that defines their characteristic sound.
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The New York band Nada Surf holds a prominent place in the scene of so-called alternative rock, indie rock, or power pop, because there's a bit of everything in their extensive and diverse discography. A legendary group, for their attitude and repertoire, and with a legion of followers in Spain thanks to their countless tours with each new album and their regular presence at festivals, they will be performing live in Puerto de la Cruz on Friday, September 5th, on the opening day of the tenth edition of Phe Festival. Nada Surf is one of the main attractions on the first day of concerts at the Portuense festival, which also features national groups Dorian, Cycle, and Carlangas on the main stage, the Canary Islands bands San Tosielo and Los Blody, and sets by Abraham Boba (León Benavente), Beat Creator, and Eva Olvido and MCR Selector.
Nada Surf arrives at Phe Festival during Moon Mirror's European tour, their latest studio album and first in four years after Never Not Together (2020), which is being released to coincide with the 30th anniversary of his debut single, The Plan/Telescope (1994). A tour that has New Yorkers on the road from mid-July to the end of September through cities in France, Italy, Holland, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, and Norway, among other destinations. The Phe Festival date is the only one in Spain on this summer stretch of the Moon Mirror Tour, which had presentation concerts in Madrid, Bilbao, and Zaragoza last November, and others in peninsular territory this same year.
The band, which began as a trio in 1992 in New York with Matthew Caws on guitar and vocals; Ira Elliot, formerly of Fuzztones, on drums and vocals; and Madrid's Dani Lorca on bass and vocals; and as a quartet with guitarist Doug Gillard, of Guided by Voices, since 2012, among other collaborators, has accumulated a solid three-decade career with a repertoire that has become part of the collective consciousness as the soundtrack to several generations.
On Phe Festival hymns from their repertoire will sound, from the classic "Popular" that opened doors for them internationally, to the most recent ones that encompass their latest release: In Front Of Me Now, New Propeller, Losing, Second Skin or Moon Mirror, which gives its title to the album. A work recorded at the legendary Rockfield Studios in Wales with producer Ian Laughton, featuring keyboardist Louie Lino, which keeps the essence of Nada Surf intact.
And Nada Surf's sonic evolution is reflected in the diversity of styles and genres they have explored in their discography. There's nothing to spare in a production with about fifteen releases, including eleven studio albums, live recordings, and other releases. Nada Surf presented their credentials with the single The Plan/Telescope (1994) and it would be the debut album High/Low (1996) which would bring them fame and open doors with the song "Popular." A handful of energetic pop songs in a power trio format, ten tracks in 36 and a half minutes for the Elektra label, produced by Ric Ocasek of The Cars.
Then titles such as The Proximity Effect (1998), Let Go (2002), The Weight Is a Gift (2005), Fortunate (2008), If I Had a Hi-Fi (2010), The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy (2012), You know who you are (2016), Peaceful spirits (2016), Never Not Together (2020) and Moon Mirror (2024).
There's no known bad or mediocre album from these New Yorkers, which speaks volumes for a band that enjoys its craft and the stage. From alternative rock to the incorporation of keyboards and synthesizers, the band has known how to adapt to current musical trends without losing its original essence and the search for balance between energy and melody, elements that define their unique and characteristic sound.
First visit to the Canary Islands in 1999
Nada Surf has maintained a very special relationship with the Spanish public since their beginnings. Frequent visitors to the Iberian territory, playing in venues and festivals, with the tours supporting the albums they've released since the late 1990s, the band has earned enormous popularity and respect among the national audience.
In April 1999, on the occasion of the presentation of the second album The Proximity Effect (1998), Nada Surf performed for the first time in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, at the pub La Calle, on the last two dates of a tour that had taken the then-trio through Vigo, Madrid, Irún, La Rioja, Cádiz, and Logroño.
Gratitude towards Nada Surf comes from the public and from national artists themselves. In this regard, the collective tribute that bands paid to Nada Surf in 2018 should be highlighted Lagartija Nick, Lori Meyers, Rufus T. Firefly, Viva Suecia, La Habitación Roja, Villanueva, Second, Clovis, Anni B. Sweet, Noise Box, and Shinova on the disc Your Aura Shines Brighter: Nada Surf Let Go 15th Anniversary, with mostly Spanish versions of the New Yorkers' third album.