If I Had A Hi-Fi
by Nada Surf
  • Record Label: Mardev
  • Release Date: Jun 8, 2010
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. The A.V. Club
    83
    It's the best sort of covers album, reverent to the source material but not beholden to it.
  2. Alternative Press
    80
    Cover albums are usually a contractual cop-out, but the diverse scope and amount of thought put into each track on If I Had A Hi-Fi prevents it from sounding superfluous or self-indulgent. [Jun 2010, p.107]
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  3. Drowned In Sound
    80
    This is how the covers album should be done, with tight technique and loving affection blending together to give the new versions life and bite.
  5. BBC Music
    80
    Consequently and unlike most covers records, If I Had a Hi-Fi (which, rather neatly, is a palindrome) sounds wonderfully fresh and easy, but also yields some unexpected pop trinkets.
  6. Uncut
    80
    The veteran New York trio draws from synth-pop, to pomp rock, yet somehow turns the wildly disparate source material into a coherent album that doubles as a tribute to their own roots in The Byrds and Big Star. [May 2010, p.99]
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  7. Billboard.com
    73
    The group's poppy guitars and thick, layered vocal harmonies occasionally improve upon some selections of the vastly diverse material.
  8. PopMatters
    70
    Ultimately what places this covers album a notch higher than the rest is its unpretentiousness.
  9. Paste Magazine
    70
    Covers, of course, are always fraught with peril, and at times singer/guitarist Matthew Caws’ inflection has a way of fermenting the source material’s latent cheese.
  10. Under The Radar
    70
    On If I Had a Hi-Fi, Nada Surf accomplishes the rare feat of producing a covers album that won't just waste space on your CD shelf.
  11. musicOMH.com
    70
    Their approach avoids downright imitation of their source material, and they somehow capture a broad swathe of popular music in their own style.
  12. AllMusic
    70
    Nada Surf show they can play well with others on If I Had a Hi-Fi, though they'd do well to apply the lessons learned here to some new tunes for their next album.
  13. Q Magazine
    60
    They spent three weeks recording this eclectic set of covers ranging from The Moody Blues to Spoon, all delivered with the steel-trap tightness of a touring band. [Jun 2010, p.128]
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  14. Mojo
    60
    A titular palindrome for New Yorkers' covers CD. [June 2010, p. 96]
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  15. Slant Magazine
    60
    Were Nada Surf not so comfortable with their own style, If I Had a Hi-Fi might play entirely as an indier-than-thou stunt performance instead of a fun, if somewhat slight, one-off record.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 8 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. tommgy711
    Nov 20, 2019
    10
    It's a great album of covers. They chose some really good ones including a few of my favorites (Go-Betweens, Depeche Mode, Spoon). But theIt's a great album of covers. They chose some really good ones including a few of my favorites (Go-Betweens, Depeche Mode, Spoon). But the ones I didn't know - it's been a chance for me to discover those artists, and dig into their history and catalogues. Nada Surf!… Full Review »
  2. KundK
    Aug 27, 2010
    5
    If I had a hi-fi, I would listen to the originals, Nada Surf's and everybody else's. When Tori Amos covers Slayer, makes "Raining Blood" herIf I had a hi-fi, I would listen to the originals, Nada Surf's and everybody else's. When Tori Amos covers Slayer, makes "Raining Blood" her own and manages to be far more disturbing than the original - I see the point of the cover and tip my hat. When Nada Surf covers Spoon... I refuse to participate.… Full Review »
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