Nada Surf owns one of the iconic alt rock anthems of the ’90s with Popular, a song released on the band’s first full length record High/Low. The song takes most of its lyrics directly from Penn’s Guide to Teen-Age Charm and Popularity, a 1964 teen advice book. The song and the Ric Ocasek-produced album remains the band’s biggest hit.
Schoolmates Matthew Caws and Daniel Lorca formed the band after each returned to New York after school. Their first demos got a contract with a Spanish record label, but it was having the demo fall into Ocaseks’ hands that gave them their US break. He agreed to produce the band and Popular became an unexpected hit.
Nada Surf’s record label balked at releasing the band’s followup album, claiming it did not have a hit like the first one had. Ultimately Elektra dropped the band, and Nada Surf released the album in the U.S. in 2000, traveling the country to promote its release. The group also self-funded their next record, pooling their merchandise sales profits to get the record completed.
Nearing their fourth decade, Nada Surf has recorded nine studio albums with the latest, Never Not Together, coming in 2020. The album continues the band’s modernization of power pop that they have advanced over the past decades.
