Cycle Through

Leave it to a band like Nada Surf to omit three songs from what is one of their most brilliant albums, 2020s Never Not Together, and for those songs to still be on par with their best work. Initially released as part of Record Store Day in 2021, the Cycle Through EP does actually feature three tracks that Nada Surf recorded for that session but were for whatever reason not included. The opening "Under the Linden Tree" alone has that kind of 90s indie rock-meets-70s power pop vibe that Nada Surf, along with contemporaries like Teenage Fanclub, Sloan, and Matthew Sweet, championed in the alternative era. Its a magical song that immediately pulls you into the album. The other two previously unreleased cuts, "Stories Go Round" and "Between the Wars" are no exception, marrying fizzy guitar riffs, warm harmonies, and singer Matthew Caws distinctively heartfelt lyrics. Equally enchanting is the groups orchestra-and-choir take on "Looking For You," a move that harkens back to their live collaboration with Germanys Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg, 2016s Peaceful Ghosts. Also adding some wry, international flair are their Spanish and French renditions of "So Much Love," both which evoke the 60s pop of artists like Serge Gainsbourg and Jacques Dutronc. Theres also an extended take on their Pink Floyd-esque ballad "Just Wait," which the band reworked for a ten-minute short film directed by Mark Pellington, featuring narration by Caws father, the late philosophy professor Peter Caws. While it might be made up of leftovers, Cycle Through is a treat unto itself. ~ Matt Collar