Shameless

>> Featured Artist: Nada Surf

With The Weight Is a Gift picking up some steam among critics and bloggers, The Toaster Talks decided to weigh in on what has become a very reliable band. It is reliable in that the Matthew Caws-fronted band has found its groove and is digging in and pumping out memorable indie pop. The standout tracks shine and the forgettable songs blend into the band's winter-becomes-spring/fall-becomes-winter atmosphere they've managed to create.

When Let Go shocked the hell out of all of us, they set a high bar for themselves. Perhaps it was too high. The first track leaked off of Weight was "Your Legs Grow," a slightly different version than the eventual album release (sans the dreary coda, mainly). It was featured on MoveOn.org's Future Soundtrack for America as one of the few songs that respectfully didn't make an overt political point (not overt, I guess, if you can't see that "your legs" clearly denotes the proletariat that "grow" where it's "cold but not that deep.") Yes, the clinkers on Weight make it a slight disappointment when compared to its immediate predecessor, but Nada Surf still has the Toaster in its corner.

>> Album Lookout: "Love Sincerely," Writes the Writer

Daddy's Gonna Kill Ralphie - Due Out: March 14, 2006 Joko Records

Remember when The Toaster plugged its own band shamelessly? "Another Flight" is a track off Mister Toaster's band's newest album. Oh well...expectations of integrity can only lead to disappointment.


>> Reverting to: 1967

An Aquarium Drunkard featured this version of the Beach Boys classic "God Only Knows" yesterday among a set of songs said to be from a 1967 rehearsal. We dare say it's even more breathtaking than the original, perhaps because it just sounds so natural. And it reminds the Toaster how much we all miss Carl Wilson's voice. Goodness.