If, back in 1996, you’d given me a list of bands and asked me which of them would still be around in 2011, I certainly wouldn’t have picked Nada Surf. Thought by many to be doomed to one-hit wonderdom after the success of “Popular”, the trio’s clawed their way back to respectability. A buddy turned me on to their album Lucky in 2007, which was a very solid piece of work.

I admittedly ignored their latest project, If I Had a Hi-Fi, when it came out. Generally speaking, I hate covers albums, although my ignorance of the album is due less to that fact than it is the fact that…well, the album just never appeared on my radar. I’d actually forgotten that it was out until a link to their video for a cover of Depeche Mode’s 1990 classic “Enjoy the Silence” popped up in my Google reader.

The verdict? No bueno. Some songs aren’t meant to be turned into guitar-pop, and this is one of them. Dave Gahan was meant to sing this song. It’s cool that Nada Surf played with the arrangement a little bit-I give them points for moxie, but it just doesn’t work. Not to mention the fact that the video’s sort of generic. We’re gonna have to stamp this one with a “fail”. What do you guys think?