Claire Suddath:

Most people, if they remember Nada Surf at all, remember them as a flash-in-the-pan group with the one song. In reality, Nada Surf has put out seven albums during its near 20-year career. The New York trio operates in exactly the type of guitar-heavy indie rock one might expect from a band that formed during the height of grunge and refined its sound in the early 2000s when softer bands like Death Cab for Cutie were all the rage. Nada Surf’s optimistic lyrics and poppy hooks — not to mention frontman Matthew Caws’ emotive vocals — make the band a joy to listen to. Take away their one hit (“Popular” peaked at No. 11 on Billboard’s rock chart) and you don’t have a musical dud, you have a solid, under-the-radar rock band that’s done pretty well for itself.