Local Natives
Gorilla Manor

The new wave straddling the two centuries has been tiring for quite some time. And for quite some time, young American bands raised on bread and the '80s have chosen other paths. Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, Real Estate, Mumford&Sons, White Rabbits, and finally the Local Natives with this debut album. Fine examples of how to make a fresh, genuine, and talented revival. In a few years, will they tire us too? Some yes, others no.

Don’t be fooled by "Wide Eyes", the opening track, with that initial guitar riff. My first thought was “the same old new wave with beat winks, basically”. Because at a certain point, things change. First, the drums that play chromatically on the edges of the snare and tom. Then the singing that intersperses choral harmonies far from the microphones. So, it’s the usual newwaveetceteraetcetera! No. The sound is afro-folk-rock (?), not epic-disco-tumztumz (??). Once the opening track and the following one, "Airplanes", are over, the album gains more and more confidence, especially from "Cards and Quarters" onwards, defining itself more and more. And in the end, a nice little product emerges. Refined, rustic, lyrical, rhythmic. Despite being a youthful debut (excessive use of drums without alternatives), "Gorilla Manor" maintains its stylistic dignity. If Wikipedia defined it as “afropop-influenced guitars with hyperactive drumming and hooky three-part harmonies,” it could mean two things: cosmic void or something compelling. The second one you mentioned.

The work of the five Los Angeles natives might seem undecided. It has been negatively defined/undefined as being halfway between East and West Coast rock in the United States, the former following melodic-psychedelic trends and the latter rural-folk. Personally, I believe that the limitations of this band reflect a desire not to overdo it. Cunning or modesty? Only history will determine this, in other words, their longevity. Personally, three and a half out of five. “Non si nasce imparati” ('You don't know everything when you are born') is what we say around here, I wonder how they say it in Orange County…