Lucky (Nada Surf Album)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Lucky'' is the fifth album by
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
band
Nada Surf Nada Surf is a New York City-based American alternative rock band formed in the 1990s, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), Doug Gillard (guitar, backing vocals), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals). History ...
. It was released on Barsuk in 2008.


Recording

Frontman
Matthew Caws Matthew Rorison Caws (born August 5, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Nada Surf. Caws is also a member of the indie rock duo Minor Alps, alon ...
said, "I feel like it is a pretty heavy record, and that is a product of John Goodmanson, the guy who made it because even the songs that were even moderately rocking – now that they are mixed and mastered, they feel like they are really kickin’ even when they are relatively quiet, so that’s thanks to him. I think it is a little heavier than ''Let Go'', but it’s not as heavy as ''The Proximity Effect''."


Release

In 2007, the band issued a statement asking for testimonies revolving around the word "Lucky", in order to include them to the album artwork. The song "See These Bones" premiered on the Anti-Hit List Podcast on October 20, 2007. Due to a misquotation of
Matthew Caws Matthew Rorison Caws (born August 5, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Nada Surf. Caws is also a member of the indie rock duo Minor Alps, alon ...
, the album was first expected to be called ''Time for Plan A''. The album was made available for streaming through their Myspace profile on February 4 2008, and was released through Barsuk Records the following day. It was released in the UK and Japan on February 18, 2008. The original pressing includes a 4-song bonus disc. In March and April 2008, the band embarked on a tour of the US; the first half was supported by
the Little Ones ''The Little Ones'' is a 1965 British family comedy film directed by British director Jim O'Connolly starring Carl Gonzales and Kim Smith. Dudley Foster stars as Superintendent Carter and Derek Newark plays the strict Detective Sgt. Wilson ...
, while the second half was covered by What Made Milwaukee Famous.


Reception

The album was met with moderate success and favorable reviews. ''Lucky'' reached #82 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The single, "See These Bones", was listed by ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' as one of London's Best Songs of 2008, and described it as "2008's most overpoweringly propulsive and gloriously euphoric song". Scott Hutchison of the band
Frightened Rabbit Frightened Rabbit were a Scottish indie rock band from Selkirk, formed in 2003. Initially a solo project for vocalist and guitarist Scott Hutchison, the final lineup of the band consisted of Hutchison, his brother Grant (drums), Billy Kennedy ...
cited the album as one as his favorites:


Track listing

All tracks written by
Matthew Caws Matthew Rorison Caws (born August 5, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Nada Surf. Caws is also a member of the indie rock duo Minor Alps, alon ...
, Daniel Lorca and Ira Elliot, except where noted. #"See These Bones" 5:10 #"Whose Authority" 3:01 #"Beautiful Beat" 4:38 #"Here Goes Something" 2:05 #"Weightless" 3:32 #"Are You Lightning?" 5:23 #"I Like What You Say" 3:08 #"From Now On" 2:35 #"Ice on the Wing" 3:48 #"The Fox" 5:40 #"The Film Did Not Go 'Round" (Greg Peterson) 3:46 The release in France includes an additional track: "Je t'attendais". ''Track listing for bonus disc'' #"Whose Authority" (acoustic) #"I Like What You Say" (acoustic) #"I Wanna Take You Home" #"Everyone's on Tour"


Guest appearances

*
Juliana Hatfield Juliana Hatfield (born July 27, 1967) is an American musician and singer-songwriter from the Boston area, formerly of the indie rock bands Blake Babies, Some Girls, and The Lemonheads. She also fronted her own band, The Juliana Hatfield Three, ...
on "I Wanna Take You Home" * John Roderick of
The Long Winters The Long Winters are an American indie rock band based in Seattle, Washington. History Singer-songwriter John Roderick was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. He later returned to Seattle, where he formed the Bun Fa ...
on "Ice On The Wing" *
Sean Nelson Sean Nelson (born June 12, 1973) is an American musician and journalist. He was the lead singer of the alternative rock group Harvey Danger and is the arts editor for '' The Stranger'' newspaper in Seattle, Washington. Music career Nelson i ...
of
Harvey Danger Harvey Danger was an American alternative rock band that was formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1992 by journalism students at the University of Washington. The band rose to prominence in 1997 with the single " Flagpole Sitta", which was later u ...
on "See These Bones" *
Ed Harcourt Edward Henry Richard Harcourt-Smith (born 14 August 1977) is an English singer-songwriter. To date, he has released six studio albums, two EPs, and thirteen singles. His debut album, ''Here Be Monsters'', was nominated for the 2001 Mercury Priz ...
, piano parts on "Weightless" and "Beautiful Beat" *
Ben Gibbard Benjamin Gibbard (born August 11, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, with whom he has recorded ten studio albums, and as a membe ...
of
Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyb ...
on "See These Bones" * Phil Wandscher of Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter * Martin Wenk of
Calexico Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Diego ...
, horns on "Ice On The Wing" *
Coralie Clément Coralie Clément (born Coralie Biolay; 1 September 1978 in Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône) is a French singer. Biography Clément was born into a family of musicians, her father a clarinetist, and studied the violin from the age of six but la ...
, high vocals on "The Fox" * Louie Lino, keyboards *
Joe McGinty Joe McGinty is an American composer, keyboardist and arranger who was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. McGinty is most widely known for his five years as the keyboardist for The Psychedelic Furs (after a brief stint with Robert Hazard in Philade ...
* Lianne Smith, vocals on "The Film Did Not Go Round"


References


External links


First article about the album
{{Authority control 2008 albums Nada Surf albums Barsuk Records albums Albums recorded at Robert Lang Studios Albums produced by John Goodmanson