The Nadas

According to Playboy, far and away the authority on all things fake and packaged, the Nadas are “the best college rock band you’ve never heard of.” That particular decree, however, was issued back in September 2001 and remains a dubious honor the Nadas have carried into the waning months of 2003. With Transceiver, the fourth studio album from the hard-touring Iowa quartet, it’s hard to understand exactly why that is. As opposed to the majority of the synthetically grown pop-rock outfits infesting the FM dial, there’s something refreshingly organic about the Nadas. Maybe it has something to do with the bluegrass-hootenanny charm of “River.” Or it could be the instant, earnest radio-readiness of cuts such as “Hold On” and “At the Edge” that bring that flavor into focus. Then again, there’s also the alt-country, fuck-all attitude of “Octane.”

Whatever it is, the Nadas seem determined to rely on unrefined and undefined style as the basis for their ongoing explorations. There’s little remarkable about the respective lyrical talents of the band’s duo of songwriters, vocalists and guitarists Jason Walsmith and Mike Butterworth, but they deliver the kind of enviable passion that explains the band’s grassroots support. Sure, they haven’t found their way into the swift and fickle currents of the mainstream, but the Nadas have managed to float quietly along its banks. Although it would be well-deserved if a breeze blew these four into deeper waters, there’s probably a loyal bastion of fans who would like to keep this Midwestern secret to themselves.