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Like their last album, 2003's Let Go, The Weight Is a Gift is a top-notch collection of sad-eyed guitar ballads.
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The Weight Is a Gift is Nada Surf's most honest and earnest record to date.
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Alternative PressA nearly flawless album full of rocking pop songs that sound instantly timeless. [Oct 2005, p.156]
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If you had Nada Surf down as a one-hit wonder indie band that should remain sidelined to compilation tapes, then the magnetic glory of this album will turn your head.
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Entertainment WeeklyMatthew Caw's cool detachment can border on boring. [23 Sep 2005, p.90]
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The whole affair is polished to such mirror-like perfection that I have to dim all the lights and cover my eyes when I listen to it.
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The main problem here is the theme -- the weight would have been a gift had there been some.
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The electric guitars are grittier and the drums are more aggressive than those of many of their fellow indie-pop acts, giving Nada Surf a distinctive sound in an increasingly crowded genre and rocking hard enough that they rightfully should earn a second shot at radio.
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Thankfully, the band's most endearing facets remain firmly intact -- namely, their timeless nature and complete disregard for the current musical zeitgeist.
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The Weight Is A Gift isn't as lyrically sharp [as Let Go].
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It's just another above average release from another indie band.
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Under The RadarDecidedly upbeat, and if it's not exactly littered with a plethora of outstanding tracks like its predecessor, it makes up for it in spirit. [#10, p.107]
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Time has allowed Nada Surf to uncover the truth in the trite, but it has also eroded some of the band's personality.
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With the gentle, delicate soundscapes of Let Go mostly replaced by energetic guitar riffing, Nada Surf can only transcend the limitations of the '90s sound for so long.
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There's not a clunker on "The Weight is a Gift," even if the band never veers far from the indie comfort zone of vague melancholia.
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The Weight Is a Gift is a slim, focused effort that moves forward by cutting back on some of the musical bombast but fails to produce a song as compelling as the best on Let Go.
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New Musical Express (NME)Doesn't do a lot different from [Let Go]. [3 Sep 2005, p.74]
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MojoA triumph of majestic American pop uplift over bleak real-life adversity. [Oct 2005, p.112]
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Q MagazineSadly, bland harmonies and bloodless production blunt the impact. [Oct 2005, p.117]
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FilterA continuation of the trio's lovelorn, earnest pop. [#17, p.99]
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UncutRammed with stinging hooks and ringing harmonies. [Oct 2005, p.112]
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BlenderNada Surf settle comfortably into adulthood. [Nov 2005, p.138]
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Paste MagazineA worthy sequel to the pure pop bliss of 2002's Let Go. [Oct/Nov 2005, p.125]
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As a whole, The Weight is a Gift wins because the band knows how to write a catchy song and make it both sad and exuberant at the same time, with an unerring pop sensibility.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 25 out of 30
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Mixed: 3 out of 30
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Negative: 2 out of 30
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Nov 20, 2019
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GregHFeb 3, 2006
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MichelleGJan 31, 2006This cd is really good even though I still think that Let Go is better....you have to get used to the lyrics, but after you do its pretty catchy.