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noah and the whale
ALBUMS:
Noah and the Whale
Last Night on Earth Mercury
J Mascis
Several Shades of Why Sub Pop
Radiohead
The King of Limbs Self- released
The Strokes Angles RCA
album covers: coverhunt.com
48 | Spark | April 15, 2011
Noah and the Whale sound dead. Or maybe that’s just Charlie Fink’s vocals, an ugly noise that sounds like a dying cat when he reaches for high notes. Folk singers obviously don’t have the polish of bubblegum pop artists, but they have a certain raw soul that is both beautiful and damaged. Fink could take a lesson from Josh Ritter. Maybe Noah and the Whale is just too young of a band that has put out too many albums in too short of a time. After all, they only formed in 2006, and their first album came out in 2008. That’s three albums in four years. They’re like the Weezer of folk bands, releasing mediocre albums almost annually. Last Night on Earth is half bad, literally. Half the songs are good, and when they’re good, they’re great. Piano and fiddle intertwined with acoustic guitar makes a beautiful sound. But the other half of the
album is a mess. Storytelling is prevalent in folk music, but not powerful when it’s rife with cliché topics like “changing your ways.” That is literally a line from “Life is Life,” a convoluted attempt at a philosophical message within a song. No, the best song on the album has no words, let alone storytelling. “Paradise Stars” is piano—just piano. Crisp, faint, beautiful. It’s not weighed down by the nuances of Fink’s voice or the stereotypical acoustic guitar chords. It doesn’t need any of those extraneous touches. It’s the soul of a song, breathtakingly simplistic, pure and mesmerizing. Last Night on Earth is Noah and the Whale limping from their folk roots into a more acoustic-pop style. Overly simplistic music backs overly cliché lyrics. Every track just seems so boring and overly polished that songs don’t even sound like real folk music anymore. If you want a folk band that actually sounds like a folk band, try Bon Iver or The Tallest Man on Earth. Noah and the Whale just isn’t anything special.—Dillon Mitchell
radiohead Listening to Radiohead for the first time is like listening to a concoction of ambiguous syllables, paired with melancholy instrumentals that somehow seem to relate to any listener’s life. But before you can immerse yourself in The King of Limbs, disregard any preconceived notions about Radiohead. “Bloom,” the album’s first track, seems to drag on forever, leaving a loyal fan apprehensive as to whether The King of Limbs is all they’ve been anticipating the last three years. The melody seems almost too familiar, reminiscent of their sixth album, Hail To The Thief. Upon reaching “Lotus Flower,” there seems to be a speck of hope for the album as lead singer Thom Yorke addresses his dilapidated state of existence with a voice so genuinely full of emotion it could bring any man to tears: “There’s an empty space Inside my heart/Where the weeds take root/Tonight I set you free.” Although the first four tracks aren’t lacking in any tangible
way, they all seem too safe and analogous to Radiohead’s previous work. Even the lyrics are evocative of “House of Cards” off In Rainbows. When In Rainbows was released in 2008, listeners were blown away by the new sound Radiohead had adopted. The band set the bar high for themselves with masterpieces such as “Reckoner” and “All I Need.” The only song comparable to either of these is “Codex,” which begins with vulnerable piano chords and a swayworthy bass pedal. Yorke’s voice is entirely stripped and seems to hover effortlessly above the piano and horns. But again no risks are taken in this song. In its entirety, The King of Limbs is a well-done record and will gain critical acclaim. The album will disappoint loyal fans of Radiohead, who, after being exposed to Hail To The Thief and In Rainbows, expected a more refreshing sound. Instead, Radiohead seems to relapse into their comfort zone with all-too familiar harmonies and signature self-deprecating lyrics. Anyone who has listened to the previous works of Radiohead will find themselves crestfallen by The King of Limbs. —Tariq Carmichael