Intriguing much? Nada Surf is releasing an album of 12 covers of their favorite songs, titled if i had a hi-fi. The songs are all over the place genre-wise, including blues, spanish music, power-pop, and everything in between.

Although a great deal of thought went into the song selections, the band’s intent is not to make an overarching musical statement. Singer-guitarist Matthew Caws says, “We really just wanted to do it organically, whatever we felt like covering in the moment, rather than trying to sum up our influences or something. It’s whatever we were excited about in the months before making it. And I think we got to everything we wanted to.”

The news comes as a bit of a surprise considering they were looking to take some time off after an extensive tour for their 2008 album Lucky. Nada Surf aren’t strangers to this whole “covers” thing – their version of “If You Leave” (originally by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) garnered plenty of publicity.

Nada Surf – “If You Leave” (OMD Cover) [MP3] (not on if i had a hi-fi)

A pretty monstrous tour is lined up for the guys as well, and the only way to get the physical album (initially) is by attending one of the shows. You can pre-order tickets here, starting January 6. Dates after the jump (NYC and D.C. are both listed!).

Continue reading Nada Surf to release album of covers; announce spring tour dates →