The New York trio Nada Surf released their seventh alternative rock album “The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy,” on Jan. 24, their first compilation of original songs since 2008’s “Lucky.”
Formed in 1992 by guitarist/vocalist Matthew Caws, drummer/back-up vocalist Ira Elliot and bassist/back-up vocalist Daniel Lorca, Nada Surf almost immediately got their name on the charts after the release of their debut album “High/Low.”
Their newest 10-track LP no doubt lives up to Nada Surf’s 
upbeat and melodic style. The opening track, “Clear Eye Clouded Mind,” starts the album off with a jolt of percussion and high-hat hits paired with repetitive guitar riffs and Caws’ unique vocals. The song’s verses are buoyant, always enveloping the subsequent verse. This song vocalizes the name of the album over and over, almost as if the band wanted to be sure that no listener would be able to forget the LP’s moniker.
Track two, “Waiting for Something” leads in making audiences anticipate a Foo Fighters “Best of You” kind of song, with the opening guitar strumming. But when the vocals drop the mood changes into a much more happy-go-lucky sort of song. With light and feathery vocals mixed in with poppy alt-beats, this is one of the songs on the album that fully encapsulates the Nada Surf style.
Many of the songs on this album touch on the cynical and wandering youth of this generation, which lyrically steers away from previous Nada Surf releases. The third track, “When I Was Young,” slows down the pace of the album while Caws contemplates with his listeners, singing: “When I was young, I didn’t know if I was better off asleep or up/ Now I’ve grown up, I wonder what was that world I was dreaming of.”
Nada Surf reassures the audience that it is never too late for teenage dreams on the track “Teenage Dreams.”
This album could make the audience question if maybe the trio has the desire to be young again or maybe if they have fleeting regrets of things they did not do as teenagers, especially based on the track: “Let the Fighting Do the Fighting,” where Caws wistfully sings “You’re gonna wish that you were young again/ You’re gonna wish that it was fun/ You’re gonna wanna have someone again.” Listeners could also question if maybe the band desires to be back in their early days of fame and the wish that they would have run with their stardom rather than priding themselves on being the alt-punk underdogs.
“The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy” is neither a prize album for Nada Surf to gloat about, nor a disappointment for lifelong fans. The album colors within the lines of what Nada Surf has done in the past and does not venture off into new territory as some fans may expect after sticking together for two decades. The sometimes-depressing lyrics match with the sometimes low-key beats on the album but the gloomy lyrics distract from the upbeat sounds.
The Nada Surf indie style remains the same in this new release, but it is safe to say that even after this album their hit song “Popular” will still remain their claim to fame.
