Crash Test Dummies. Dexy’s Midnight Run. Cracker. All these bands are casualties of one-hit wonderdom. They produced one song that propelled them into the spotlight and spit them out again before the beer buzz wore off.

Nada Surf was another such victim.

In 1995, Nada’s “Popular” became an MTV staple, a spoken-word satire for high school rejects to sing along with in the locker room. For better or worse, the song became synonymous with the band itself, and nearly a decade later their identity remains attached to a banal teenage anthem.

Victimed artists such as Nada can spend years trying to reclaim their identities, to separate themselves from the one song that managed to make and break their career. Vanilla Ice wrote a rap-rock album and quickly returned to oblivion. A-Ha still tours in Europe. Nada Surf released a near-brilliant lo-fi rock album, Let Go, out this month on Barsuk.

At the first of two shows at Schubas this week, all of Nada’s fame faux pas were forgiven. After a nearly show-stealing performance by crooning boy wonder Sondre Lerche, Nada Surf proved it is a force to be reckoned with.

The New York-based trio has traded its teen angst or musical craftsmanship, melding sweet melodies, lead singer Matthew Caws’ soaring tenor and whip-smart lyrics. “Popular” was not played. Instead the group devoted an hour to material from Let Go, an eclectic 12-song record that at its best is flawless and at its weakest still kept the crowd bouncing.

The group opened with the lead track, “Blizzard of 77,” a nostalgic if not trite reflection on young love. Better was the second song, “Inside of Love,” a romantic ode that would be a runaway hit if MTV would give Nada another chance. But this time around the band is not seeking celebrity.

Nada has seen the highs and lows of fame, and their music brims with sympathy for the loser. On the song “Fruit Fly,” Caws depicts the swarming insects as tragic heroes: “Flying jerky patterns / Like snowflakes in the air / I’m sorry you’ve got nowhere to go.”

For the encore Caws moved from tales of loss to hope for redemption. Douring the closer “Blonde on Blonde” Caws’ words rang true. “I’ve got no time I wanna lose / To people with something to prove / What can you do but let them walk / And make your way down the block.”

Nada Surf may have stumbled down the block, but they’re not looking back. nyou