Let Go (2003)

We know what you're thinking: Nada Surf? Aren't they the guys who had a hit single, like, seven years ago? Well, yes and no. While this is the same Brooklyn-based trio responsible for 1996's quirky ''Popular,'' Let Go (Barsuk) couldn't sound any more different from that spoken-word fluke. Instead, it collects a dozen near-perfect pop songs, each one teeming with joyful desperation. ''Let Go'' begins with the crisp acoustic drama ''Blizzard of '77'' -- surely one of the starkest album openers ever -- and runs through an equal amount of slow-speed beauties (such as the pensive gem ''Blonde on Blonde'') and highly charged rockers (the wiry ''Happy Kid''); all the while, singer-guitarist Matthew Caws wraps his vocals around flypaper-sticky hooks. It's a comeback effort that grows more popular with each spin.

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