Lucky

Nada Surf

Consistent: That’s the word that best describes the discography of New York’s Nada Surf, the jingle-jangle pop trio now in its second decade. With heavenly harmonies and swollen choruses, the band can always be counted on to deliver an album’s worth of hummable, single-worthy melodies. With lyrics that are pointed, yet restrained, the music--often acoustically driven but electrically charged--is the message. Songs like "See These Bones" (a Teenage Fanclub knock-off featuring Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard), the optimistic "I Like What You Say," the louder "Weightless," and especially "Ice on the Wing" are the brand of pop cut that takes merely a couple listens to feel like it's been in the listening arsenal for years. Even the more somber tracks are buoyed by tranquil instrumentation or, on the heartrending closer, "The Film Did Not Go ‘Round," by the backing vocals of the underrated Lianne Smith. --Scott Holter

Lucky Album: