Noah & The Whale – Last Night On Earth

27 February 2011

Charlie Fink is an artist. I don’t mean the pretentious “musical artist” kind of title – I mean a multi-faceted, genuinely innovative and actually quite genius-like individual in a range of different artistic mediums. Noah And The Whale reflects his brilliance perfectly. The stark stylistic differences which began in the transition between Peaceful The World Lays Me Down and The First Days of Spring are apparent again in this latest stage of the band’s transition, and it works fantastically. Each album seems to invite a new array of listeners in to appreciate this unique and talented band and yet sustains their longterm fanbase completely.

Last Night On Earth (Mercury, 2011) is a pop record. Not in the vein of Katy Perry, of course, but in the better age of pop; comparisons with Depeche Mode would not be unfounded, yet there’s a reggae, world-infused feel to many of the tracks. Though it’s pop, it’s no more mainstream than anything they’ve done previously. The first single taken from this record, the catchy L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N, is the most mainstream offering, but where its musical hooks may appeal to the masses, its lyrical story shows depth and originality that original NATW fans have come to expect from the ensemble. Definite highlights include album opener Life Is Life and half-way mark Just Me Before We Met. Noah And The Whale have produced another phenomenal album that deserves all the acclaim I have no doubt it’ll be receiving. 10/10

[Pre-order] Noah & The Whale – Last Night on Earth CD @ Record Store | Amazon
[Pre-order] Noah & The Whale – Last Night on Earth MP3s @ Amazon | Play | iTunes

http://vimeo.com/20328782

Noah and the Whale – L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N

Noah and the Whale – L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N (Fake Blood Remix)

Bands to watch: Letters

By: Tim

21 February 2011

In: News & Leaks

0 comments

There will always be a soft-spot in my heart for bands from north of the border after spending some amazing years split between Edinburgh and Glasgow. But with a cello leading proceedings Letters (MySpace) step a little away from any “scene”.

You can draw some similarities between Letters and the softer, subtler sides of We Were Promised Jetpacks such as those on found on their last EP The Last Place You’ll Look, but Letters are coming to that shared ground from a completely different angle. Their self-described cello noise-pop is born of introverted beauty found in the shivering cold, the dreary grey skies, and dank pub lock-ins – it’s a feeling always close to my heart.

Last Wednesday Mikey, Georgie, Dougie, Kerr and Ed launched their double A-side single at Henry’s Cellar bar in Edinburgh, and we’ve got both of them here for free downloads

Letters – Pipe Dreams

Letters – Grand National

Frankie and the Heartstrings, Live at leeds Cockpit

By: will

21 February 2011

In: Reviews

1 comment

Frankie and the Heartstrings, kings of the explosion of Indie bands proud to be from the North East demonstrated their interpretation of cool Indie Pop at the Cockpit in Leeds last Thursday, supported by Cleveland, Ohio based Cloud Nothings and Leeds’ own Blood Oranges. Although both supports were enjoyable I came away with a certain level of disappointment over Frankie and the Heartstrings’ laid back approach and felt thoroughly underwhelmed after the hype they have recently been accredited.

Indie pop champions Blood Oranges were the first on stage. I have had a growing admiration for the band since catching their surprising support of The Vaccines at York’s Stereo and their debut single launch at Nation of Shopkeepers. Trialing a selection of new and unheard tracks, the band played a short but sweet 25 minute set, with their distinctive mixed sex vocals and their usual tales of love and lust. Second on stage were Cloud Nothings, and after the first few tracks they seemed nothing more than a terrible copy of other much better American alternative artists, such as We Are Scientists or Weezer. Yet, to give the band some credit, as their set continued the lead singer’s fast and chaotic sounds and lyrics became rather interesting and I came to particularly enjoy ‘Even If It Worked Out’.

The main act came on stage and I looked around the audience, to my surprise The Cockpit seemed unusually empty, Frankie and the Heartstrings were unable to fill maybe three quarters of the venue despite the hype attributed to them. The bands almost laid back approach seemed a little disconcerting, and the small audience itself lacked generally in energy, with floppy haired lead singer Frankie Francis remarking “God its quiet in here”. At one point the drummer asked if we were judging them, and honestly I don’t think the audience was even doing that. Despite a few ecstatic fans right at the front, the crowd didn’t seem fully engaged with the band, demonstrated by the lackluster participation in the usually crowd pleasing chants of ‘Hunger’.

The musical simplicity of the band is commendable as is their 80s style, with Frankie Francis’s prancing around stage describable as nothing less than theatrical. Although the lyrics are a little uncomplicated, and the riffs rather similar, I was surprised by the bands more rocky tones, that is to say some heavier or more power guitar riffs than I had come to expect. Yet, unfortunately the set lacked in variety; not even the solemn sound of their new release ‘Fragile’ could overcome their over reliance on dancey pop.

The French Word For Love by Blood Oranges

Cloud Nothings “Should Have” by carparkrecords
01 Fragile by Hugh Porter

HUNGER by FRANKIE & THE HEARTSTRINGS by leithrecords