Let Go

Nada Surf got a raw deal: When they followed their 1996 hit “Popular” by promptly disappearing, they were branded a one-hit wonder. But not only are they still around, they’re pretty damn good. Their third album hardly reinvents the wheel—it simply alternates moody guitar-pop (think Coldplay without the Radiohead fixation) with buzzing rockers (think Weezer without the metal fixation), and does it well. Granted, they sorely test our goodwill by singing a song in French (“La Pour Ça”), but we like Let Go enough to let it slide. This time.