Noah and the Whale return with fourth LP Heart of Nowhere and some of the infectious tweed-pop that we’ve come to expect from the Twickenham five-piece. A more straightforward rock approach was shown during Last Night On Earth with highlights in- cluding the radio-friendly ‘L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.’
In Heart of Nowhere, however, there is a re- turn to the musical style shown on the second album The First Days of Spring, released in 2009, with the opening ‘Instrumental’ and looser acoustic-feel of tracks such as the closing number ‘Not Too Late’.
Noah have always been a band associated with the summer, and the feel-good vibes associated with this period with infectious melodies a many and complimentary arrangements to suit. The meticulous string parts, in particular, remain an integral part of the band’s make-up, reappearing in the title track and others such as ‘Lifetime’.
The impact of the last album with its ‘rocky’ influences can still be felt with tracks such as recent single ‘There Will Come A Time’ and the similarly euphoric ‘All Through The Night’, which will no doubt complement their pre-existing set of crowd-shifters during an announced European tour which includes a set at Liverpool’s Soundcity this weekend and a month-long residency at the Palace theatre, London, this May.
With this broad back catalogue of influences, the band’s new album doesn’t so much represent a progression from their previous offerings but a merging and blending of pre-existing styles into a sort of poprock-folk hybrid which is entirely unique and associative with the band. There is no doubt that Noah have musically matured but, luckily, they have somehow managed to maintain a sense of rawness and naïvety which made their initial offerings so hummably exciting, and this new one equally so.
Track to download: All Through the Night
