Nada Surf

Nada Surf understand the sound of melancholy. Matthew Caws knows how to take a fragile
bit of New York guitar buzz and let it reverberate slowly in the background, surrounding
one of his bewitching minor-key melodies, propelling the tune along with urgent strums.
The lyrics are sharp, but they're never the point of the song -- instead, they're just there
to provide Caws' voice with a bit of shelter as the song builds all around him. The... More >

Emo, if that term retains any shred of cred, for adults--who actually know a tune when they hear one ("Blankest Year," "Imaginary Friends").