Alternative rockers Nada Surf teamed singer/guitarist Matthew Caws and bassist Daniel Lorca, longtime school friends who played together in various bands throughout their formative years. After Lorca spent a year in Spain, he returned to New York in 1988, where he and Caws eventually formed Because Because Because; by 1993 the group had mutated into Nada Surf, issuing an indie label single which won them a contract with a European label. After recording an LP, the band's original drummer quit and was replaced by ex-Fuzztone Ira Elliot; the European deal then fell through, but a demo copy of the completed album was passed to Ric Ocasek, who agreed to produce the sessions if Nada Surf wished to re-record the material. The trio soon signed to Elektra, and with Ocasek at the helm they cut their 1996 debut LP, High/Low; some of the completed European tracks also made their way onto an EP, Karmic. Nada Surf returned in 1998 with their second full-length, The Proximity Effect. The band's third album, Let Go followed in 2002; it was reissued with additional tracks on Barsuk in 2003. Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla produced Nada Surf's second album for Barsuk, The Weight Is a Gift. It was released in September 2005. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide