Blake Solomon
08/06/09, 11:25 PM
Noah and the Whale – The First Days of Spring
Record Label: Cherrytree Records
Release Date: October 6, 2009
Despite their cutesy indie-pop affectations, Noah and the Whale can take you by surprise. The first song from last year’s Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down, “2 Atoms in a Molecule,” jingles by with all the life of an I’m From Barcelona album. But once you sit down and delve into the world of singer Charlie Fink, you realize that he’s got some stuff to work through. His band’s acoustic guitars and strings may be set to Sunshine, but he is resolutely stuck at Rainy Monday Morning. It’s a conflicting realization, because most of you will initially feel compelled to listen with a loved one. Be wary, though. While The First Days of Spring also teases the listener with hints of happiness, the music has, for the most part, followed Fink into despair. Second song “Our Window” has all the carefree charm of a Godard movie, and the self-titled opener rises into an eerie climax using the lines, “For I’m still here hoping that one day you will come back.” Yes, the song is about him becoming what he perceives to be a “grown up,” but it’s coming from such a vulnerable place that you can’t help mourning for this man. Like I said, he has some stuff to work through.
And that’s the beauty of this record. Its arrangements are dense with intricacy, but not in a cluttered fashion. This isn’t like when Metallica decided that what they lacked was the New York Symphony Orchestra. There’s thought in these movements. Case in point is the album’s middle section, a trinity of orchestra-fueled numbers by the names of “Instrumental I,” “Love of an Orchestra,” and “Instrumental II.” The jittery piano of “Instrumental I” is a flawless segue into the singalong-inducing “Love of an Orchestra.” Here we are treated to a brief but intriguing bit of schizophrenia. It’s clearly a song written in front of a mirror. Choral arrangements of, “If you gotta run / Run from hope,” throw the listener into a tailspin. Why does this oboe sound so happy if he’s so depressed? But then he figures it out: “I know I’ll never be lonely / I’ve got songs in my blood / I’m carrying the love of an orchestra.” Sure, it’s a smidge childish. But for me, a.k.a. someone in the perpetual state of “finding myself,” it’s nice to hear the honest interpretations of all the good and bad a day can bring. He’s found something that works, represented by the orchestra, and by God he’s made a declaration to stick with it.
Clearly the band that wrote “5 Years Time” has tweaked its formula. Sullen “Stranger” recounts a regrettable one night stand with the lines, “Cos everything I love has gone away / Oh the dark night is moving slower / And sleep won’t rescue me.” It’s melodically pleasing but mentally challenging, which is apparently their new, better method. “Slow Glass” emphasizes the lyrical emptiness with its thudding drums and an especially morose Fink. The First Days of Spring is so blue that indie-pop seems misleading. Maybe indie-fizzle, instead? Closer “My Door Is Always Open” ends with mildly uplifting “whoa-oh’s,” but still, the last line we hear is, “My heart’s not yours.” The guy who wrote “I’m not trying to write a love song / Just a sad, pathetic moan,” succeeded and then some. He wrote a sad, pathetic album. And, guess what, it’s great.
Recommended If You Like:: I'm From Barcelona Division, A Thorn for every Decemberist, women's FIB, Bonnie Prince of Darkness, bye bye Laura
www.myspace.com/noahandthewhale
Record Label: Cherrytree Records
Release Date: October 6, 2009
Despite their cutesy indie-pop affectations, Noah and the Whale can take you by surprise. The first song from last year’s Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down, “2 Atoms in a Molecule,” jingles by with all the life of an I’m From Barcelona album. But once you sit down and delve into the world of singer Charlie Fink, you realize that he’s got some stuff to work through. His band’s acoustic guitars and strings may be set to Sunshine, but he is resolutely stuck at Rainy Monday Morning. It’s a conflicting realization, because most of you will initially feel compelled to listen with a loved one. Be wary, though. While The First Days of Spring also teases the listener with hints of happiness, the music has, for the most part, followed Fink into despair. Second song “Our Window” has all the carefree charm of a Godard movie, and the self-titled opener rises into an eerie climax using the lines, “For I’m still here hoping that one day you will come back.” Yes, the song is about him becoming what he perceives to be a “grown up,” but it’s coming from such a vulnerable place that you can’t help mourning for this man. Like I said, he has some stuff to work through.
And that’s the beauty of this record. Its arrangements are dense with intricacy, but not in a cluttered fashion. This isn’t like when Metallica decided that what they lacked was the New York Symphony Orchestra. There’s thought in these movements. Case in point is the album’s middle section, a trinity of orchestra-fueled numbers by the names of “Instrumental I,” “Love of an Orchestra,” and “Instrumental II.” The jittery piano of “Instrumental I” is a flawless segue into the singalong-inducing “Love of an Orchestra.” Here we are treated to a brief but intriguing bit of schizophrenia. It’s clearly a song written in front of a mirror. Choral arrangements of, “If you gotta run / Run from hope,” throw the listener into a tailspin. Why does this oboe sound so happy if he’s so depressed? But then he figures it out: “I know I’ll never be lonely / I’ve got songs in my blood / I’m carrying the love of an orchestra.” Sure, it’s a smidge childish. But for me, a.k.a. someone in the perpetual state of “finding myself,” it’s nice to hear the honest interpretations of all the good and bad a day can bring. He’s found something that works, represented by the orchestra, and by God he’s made a declaration to stick with it.
Clearly the band that wrote “5 Years Time” has tweaked its formula. Sullen “Stranger” recounts a regrettable one night stand with the lines, “Cos everything I love has gone away / Oh the dark night is moving slower / And sleep won’t rescue me.” It’s melodically pleasing but mentally challenging, which is apparently their new, better method. “Slow Glass” emphasizes the lyrical emptiness with its thudding drums and an especially morose Fink. The First Days of Spring is so blue that indie-pop seems misleading. Maybe indie-fizzle, instead? Closer “My Door Is Always Open” ends with mildly uplifting “whoa-oh’s,” but still, the last line we hear is, “My heart’s not yours.” The guy who wrote “I’m not trying to write a love song / Just a sad, pathetic moan,” succeeded and then some. He wrote a sad, pathetic album. And, guess what, it’s great.
Recommended If You Like:: I'm From Barcelona Division, A Thorn for every Decemberist, women's FIB, Bonnie Prince of Darkness, bye bye Laura
www.myspace.com/noahandthewhale