Noah & the Whale – Last Night on Earth
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It’s pretty easy to label Noah & the Whale as sort of a bipolar band; their first release was loaded with sunny twee pop, while their sophomore effort was trenched with deeper, folksier tunes. While this is forgivable, c’est la vie, it’s still nice to bring about an even-tempered album, and that’s exactly what Noah & the Whale attempt to bring about Last Night on Earth.
It opens on “Life is Life,” which shows exactly the progression of this group on its opening line, “You used to be somebody and now you’re someone else.” The drum machine percussion and the drawl of Charlie Fink seem a little hollow at first, when the song begins. However, as the groovy little tune continues, it opens up to more of a sprawl. The overlapping of Fink’s vocals with that of the rest of the gang vocals of the band creates a stylistic motif for this band. It’s not a bad start, it’s just a bit “middle of the road.”
The motif of those gang vocals continues all the way up to “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N,” which is the band’s best bit from this album, despite it’s tedious to type title. It’s a catchy narrative of characters that may find themselves in bad situations, but still manage to carry on. It’s a universal theme of life, and is easily identifiable with the listener, so it is not hard to find yourself spelling out the chorus with the rest of the band, agreeing with the sentiment. This song is a reminder of why you love a band like this; the empathetic and simple qualities that live in their music.
If I could tell you to listen to any three tracks from this album, it would be the previous described, “Wild Thing,” and then “Give it All Back.” On “Wild Thing,” there is a bit of transport back to the last album. The five-minute song begins with a bit of feedback and echoing synthesizer, and then slowly swells to its chorus. This slow-mover is the deepest that Noah & the Whale will delve; the sugary gang vocals are cut from this track, and replaced by a climactic and distant “ooh.” Following this is mellowness comes another pop tune with “Give it All Back,” which salvages the mood from before and entertains with another narrative.
For the most part, they achieve their goal. They put “Wild Thing” next to a simple song like “Give it All Back,” which emphasizes their need to move back to a balanced album. It’s not a bad work and there is sure to be a song or two that suits your fancy. However, this album is exactly that; a few exceptional songs coupled with a lot of mediocre ones.