In 1996, Nada Surf inadvertently shot themselves in the foot by shooting up the charts with a great song that was, despite its excellence, an exercise in gimmickry. “Popular” should be familiar to anyone who watched MTV during that era, a snarky take on cliques and every high schooler’s desire to be accepted. It was unquestionably the stand-out track on their debut full-length, High-Low, but its own popularity came with a price. The song was such a winner that when Nada Surf presented Elektra with their follow-up, The Proximity Effect, label executives dropped the band from their roster because they didn’t hear a “single” that could meet the high expectations raised by their calling card. In the end, it was likely the best of all possible outcomes for the group as they have gone on to release three more excellent records on smaller, more accommodating labels.

In 1994, two years before their major label debut, Nada Surf cut a five song EP entitled Karmic. This seminal recording has recently been re-released by Hi Speed Soul (accompanied by bonus track “Pressure Free”) and shows how much promise Nada Surf had from their earliest days. Karmic shares an energy with the mid ‘90s guitar-driven output of alternative acts like Weezer and Superdrag—the latter similarly stricken victims of the MTV hit curse. Lacking the glossy sheen of major label production, the songs on this EP benefit from an enhanced immediacy, a rough around the edges sensibility that plays exceptionally well on songs like “Telescope,” a straight-ahead, blinders-on bottle rocket. As with most of their output that followed, this song finds Nada Surf at their best by investing more in the emotional charge of their music rather than trying to orchestrate something more complicated.

Thirteen years in retrospect, Karmic is far from monumental but that doesn’t stop it from being a bit of high octane pop brilliance. “Treehouse” is stronger and catchier than it should be, tinged with the familiar distorted guitar tones of the college radio airwaves of the era and propelled by vocalist Matthew Caws’ charisma. Even the weaker offerings all have moments of inspiration that elevate the songs to a level of excellence. On “Sea Knows When,” for instance, mediocre verses are quickly forgotten when the elegant, lusty choruses float to the fore.

For fans of the band, Nada Surf’s Karmic will be a welcomed addition to their repertoire, but even newcomers stand to be wooed by this impassioned early outing.

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