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Product Description
Review
There’s a certain amount of irony attached to the fact that this album is coming out after the success of both Mumford & Sons and Laura Marling at this year’s Brit Awards. Weird love triangle aside (Marling dated Noah and the Whale mainman Charlie Fink before stepping out with Marcus Mumford), the three bands have been associated with the spurious ‘nu-folk’ scene that also spawned the likes of Johnny Flynn and Emmy the Great. Yet, three years after N&TW released their debut album, Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down – one of the defining records of that movement – the Twickenham four-piece release an album dominated by synths and a healthy sense of nostalgia for Lou Reed and Brian Eno, just as the Brits turn the spotlight up on their contemporaries.
Yet it’s not as if this change is totally out of the blue. 2009’s sophomore effort, The First Days Of Spring – a stark, solemn, sombre affair inspired by Fink’s break-up with Marling – moved away from the twee whimsy of the first album, so, really, this is more a continuation of their natural evolution rather than a dramatic change. Still, the difference is dramatic. But it also serves an important purpose, by helping to set the emotional tone of this record far away from its predecessor. Whereas that record was dominated by personal heartache, this one bristles with a sense of hope and possibility.
The euphoric yearning of opener Life Is Life is the start of an upbeat, wide-eyed set of adventures that are as much metaphorical and metaphysical as they are real and physical – the characters here are all looking to move on, move up, move away, in mind as well as body. L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. is an updated retelling of Walk on the Wild Side with an added does of 21st century ennui, while Wild Thing adds a small coda onto the end of the story. There’s the joyful nostalgia of Just Me Before We Met, the wistful Waiting for My Chance to Come and the mesmerising finale of Old Joy, which begins slowly and tentatively, before bursting into a Technicolor expression of reinvention and rediscovery. It serves as a great metaphor for the band itself – for, in the wake of the Brits, while it may seem their timing couldn’t be worse, it actually couldn’t be better.
--Mischa Pearlman
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Nice Surprise...,
By
This review is from: Last Night on Earth (Audio CD)
From the first few notes, I knew this album was going to be really different from their last two. It's rather strange to hear electronics on a Noah and the Whale album. Definitely not what I expected...Their first two albums were, lyrically, mainly about love and the terrible pain it causes. This album is about living life to the full, hope, and time passing. "L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N." is definitely a good choice for the lead single; it's positive, upbeat, and very catchy. I hope it does well. "Wild Thing" and "The Line" are very beautiful ballads that I'm sure all old fans will approve of. "Waiting For My Chance To Come" definitely reminds of of The Cars... I suspect that some fans might not know how to take this album. One of the appeals of Noah and the Whale's music was listening to it as a soundtrack to the pain you felt at the time (at least it was for me anyway). Not only has the sound of the music changed, but the lyrics have changed too, so this is definitely a departure, or a new beginning, for the band. That said, I think this album deserves a few listens. It's definitely a change, but you can still hear it's the same band. I'd be surprised if any old fans don't like this album. While I absolutely adored their first two albums, I couldn't listen to them as often as I could listen to some other music I listen to. They were so genuinely sad that they made me feel sad and depressed while I listened to them. I must say, it's nice to be able to listen to Noah and the Whale without feeling depressed. While this album is definitely very different, the important things remain the same; and that's the fact that these songs, like all other Noah and the Whale songs, have heart. From Charlie's vocals, to the way the instruments are played, it's all full of beautiful, genuine, emotion, and that's what made us all love them in the first place...
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice,
By
This review is from: Last Night On Earth (MP3 Download)
Had only heard of them from " tonights the kind of night" but thought i would download the album and give them a listen. Not going to set the world on fire but well worth buying if you like the singles. Borders on being a bit " twee " but shouldn't upset anybody. Have played a few times and seems to be growing on me. Give them a go
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fink it's a classic,
By Young Offender (Westbury, Wilts) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Last Night On Earth (MP3 Download)
Last Night On Earth has the vintage album structure of two five-song sides (the CD sleeve lists them this way) with a running time under 35 minutes. But is the content as classic as the form? It's superb. This is not the radical departure that some have suggested, but a natural progression: after the novelty bounce of `5 Years Time' and the punch-drunk heartbreak of The First Days of Spring, these are the songs of a man with experience, perspective, and grounded optimism. It is one of the most purely enjoyable and emotionally satisfying albums that I have heard for months. Charlie Fink continues to develop impressively as a songwriter, with just about every track a potential single, and his bandmates do them justice with inspired arrangements and musicality. If I had to pick standouts they would be `Give It All Back', `Waiting for My Chance to Come' and `The Line', but there isn't a dud here.
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