Noah And The Whale's downbeat phase is definitely over.
Label: Mercury Released: 7th March 2011 Reviewer:Stephen Ackroyd
Anyone suggesting that now's the time Noah And The Whale should be leaving the 'nu-folk' scene behind probably deserves the odd looks they'll receive. With the more-than-slightly-close-to-home Laura Marling and Mumford & Sons both taking home Brits it would seem that donning new threads for their third album might be more than just a small misjudgement. Yet, having arguably helped kick all that off with debut 'Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down', it shouldn't be too much of a shock to see this leopard change its spots.
Sophomore effort 'The First Days Of Spring' was hardly a jaunty laugh-a-minute experience. Moving on from that - a painfully honest account of frontman Charlie Fink's break up with Marling - starts to make more sense. Jaunting still, but as close to logical as we're getting.
As it turns out, a touch of the Eno and a side order of vintage synth suits N&TW well. Opener 'Life Is Life' seems almost like a second birth. "Took apart his old things, set them all on fire", Fink aptly recounts. If that's not a literal metaphor, it should be. With the palette cleansed, 'Tonight's The Kind Of Night' seems an almost hands-in-the-air affair. Hinting more to Springsteen's American love affair than Brandon Flowers' indie pop anthems, change remains in the air - though admittedly, a reassuring familiar one.
Like a well worn pair of loafers, you'd struggle to claim earworm of a lead single 'L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.' is anything close to pulse-racing, but its warm refrain is as infectious as they come. From there on in, it's as easy as riding a bike. Even the intro to 'Give It All Back' - sounding more than a bit like an iPhone ringtone - doesn't detract from a track built for sun-drenched road trips. Noah And The Whale's downbeat phase is definitely over. Sometimes the best decisions make no sense at all.Rating: 7/10
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