Nada Surf has never been a great band; nor has it been a bad band.

And with members now all in their 30s, it’s unrealistic to expect a drastic change on the band’s fourth LP – though some would argue the breed of smooth, guitar-driven power pop needs new life.

But then again, it’s front man Matthew Caws’ band, and he likes the way it’s sounded for more than a decade. He likes the chunky, quirky rock that propelled the band to the height of its “Popular”-ity in the mid ’90s. He likes the age-appropriate, more sedately introspective turn he and his band mates have taken on the last few releases. He is not trying to reinvent the wheel, or guitar sound for that matter. So why a need for change?

Because the trio has always had blatant shortcomings, offset by strategic song-writing.

“Weight Is A Gift” hides the band’s inability to write even the slightest musical melody the same way previous albums did – highlighting Caws’ talent for pristine vocal melody. With his delicately suave voice carrying the tune of the track, we ignore that it rests on basic chords and otherwise boring song-structures.

And the lyrically-challenged Caws should be thankful the focus is on how he sounds, instead of what he says. Lines like, “I look in the mirror/to see what my hair is doing/is it kind of Skywalker/or is it kind of stupid” during “In The Mirror,” seem like juvenile comedy. Where as trite phrases such as “To find someone you love/you’ve got to be someone you love” in “Concrete Bed” could be written in Magic Marker on any eighth grader’s diary.

But we’ve come to expect things like this from Nada Surf. And for those who have grown up with – or in – the band, it’s also what we like.