•
Rating: Usually, during summer afternoons, I crave fairly simple listens, engaging melodies that serve as a backdrop to relaxation moments; there's nothing better than some good modern Folk, I dare say. For some years now, the irresistible melodies and the incredibly original stories of the good Will Sheff have been resonating in my mind. He is the frontman of Okkervil River (yes, that very band from Austin arriving from a "random" label named Jagjaguwar), and besides them, the melodic genius of Jeff Mangum from the now-legendary Neutral Milk Hotel.
The Noah And The Whale are certainly not on their level of caliber and importance, but they are surely pupils who do not disobey the masters of the genre, and I am not just referring to those mentioned previously.
During the summer of 2008 (the same year it was released), I began listening to their delightful debut work "Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down", such a peaceful title fits perfectly and lets one infer what my auditory system desired at that time, of which this album remains to me as a sort of soundtrack.
Moments of carefree cheerfulness, alternating with slightly more melancholic tracks are what these Londoners led by frontman Charlie Fink (guitar and vocals) offer us - strangely but true, they don't come from the States, where this style is definitely easier to find.
Those who love the genre will probably already appreciate them just by watching the charming videos of the singles "Shape of my Heart" and "5 Years Time", tracks not very different in style from Sheff's band. The album contains pieces like "Give a Little Love", with a rhythm very reminiscent of Arcade Fire, to tracks like the title track where Fink's singing seems inspired by the latest works of Bill Callahan. Furthermore, Tom Hobden's violin could suggest echoes of The Decemberists. Whether Folk or Pop, several recent bands have quite personal styles and thus are somewhat generically lumped into the same pot, whether it's Indie, often erroneously, as this term has a very specific cultural and musical development, and nowadays there's a tendency to play too much with this label.
Who knows if these sounds will still be able to give us emotions in the future; they certainly have provided several over the past years. Another debut band I feel like recommending is The Rural Alberta Advantage, already reviewed.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Jocasta (02:49)
When the baby's born
Oh, let's turn it to the snow
So that ice will surely grow
Over weak and brittle bones
Oh, let's leave it to the wolves
Oh, their teeth turn it to food
Oh, its flesh keeps them alive
Oh, its death helps life survive
Oh, the world can be kind in its own way
Oh well, your future's a machine
With the mechanics of a dream
It it's your mind that spins the wheel
And your heart that makes you feel
All the guilt for all your sins
Oh, and as that wheel spins
Oh well, it plays as they believed
And for your husband you have grieved
Oh, the world
Still deceives you as it turns
And in my weakest moments I could see
Oh, that the heart may be
The weakest part of me
Oh, and the moon controls
The movements of the tide
Oh, but it has no weight on the movements of my mind
But if you turn your hands to flames
All delight will burn the same
Whether you just pass it through or
If it's what you meant to do
When your sense is cold but still a dream
It's from the gods that you perceive
There comes the love that you believe
It's only grace
Oh, when you turn to a ghost
Oh, right now the love you found
Is meant to be a Mardi ground
All the dead have let you down
Cause it still occurs
That they go on the same
07 5 Years Time (03:35)
Oh well in five years time we could be walking round a zoo
With the sun shining down over me and you
And there'll be love in the bodies of the elephants too
And I'll put my hands over your eyes, but you'll peep through
And there'll be sun sun sun all over our bodies
And sun sun sun all down our necks
And sun sun sun all over our faces
And sun sun sun -so what the heck!
Cos I'll be laughing at all your silly little jokes
And we'll be laughing about how we used to smoke
All those stupid little cigarettes and drink stupid wine
Cos it's what we needed to have a good time
And it was fun fun fun when we were drinking
It was fun fun fun when we were drunk
And it was fun fun fun when we were laughing
It was fun fun fun, oh it was fun
Oh well I look at you and say
It's the happiest that I've ever been
And I'll say I no longer feel I have to be James Dean
And she'll say
"Yah well I feel all pretty happy too"
And I'm always pretty happy when I'm just kicking back with you
And it'll be love love love all through our bodies
And love love love all through our minds
And it be Love love love all over her face
And Love love love all over mine
Although maybe all these moments are just in my head
I'll be thinking ‘bout them as I'm lying in bed
And all that I believe, it might not even come true
But in my mind I'm havin' a pretty good time with you
In five years time I might not know you
In five years time we might not speak
In five years time we might not get along
In five years time you might just prove me wrong
Oh there'll be love love love
Wherever you go
There'll be love
Loading comments slowly
