Nada Surf is the sort of band I love to hate. Headquarters:

Williamsburg, Brooklyn—Grrrrrrrrrrr!!!! Words “nada” and “surf” in band name: Rrrrrrowwwwrrrr!!!!! White guy with dreadlocks in band:

Grrrrreeeeeooooowwwwwrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!! I FUCKING HATE WHITE GUYS

WITH DREADS. And yet, I can’t hate Nada Surf, no matter how hard I

try. Why? Because their new album, Lucky, is the best one I’ve heard so far this year. Dreads aside, they’ve always been a rock-solid, three-piece indie-pop band. But this album, featuring local

contributions from Ben Gibbard, Sean Nelson, and SW columnist John

Roderick, blows anything they’ve ever done out of the water. Way out

of the water. I can’t say enough good things about this record. It’s

perfect. It even makes me start to like white guys with dreads—or at least keep an open mind about them. With Sea Wolf. MIKE SEELY

Thu., March 27, 8 p.m., 2008