Noah and the Whale - The First Days of Spring

Although the new Noah and the Whale album has been leaked for a little while, I've been hesitant to listen to it because their last album, Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down, started to grate on my nerves after the first few listens. The one thing that did lead me to posting The First Days of Spring though is the fact that Noah lead singer, Charlie Fink, apparently got dumped by his former back-up singer, Laura Marling, and subsequently, this album is supposed to be a "break-up album." Fink definitely doesn't try and hide his feelings, singing in the opening title track, "Like a cut down tree, I will rise again, and I will be bigger and stronger than ever before." Keep telling yourself that, dude. In the meantime, I think I like Noah and the Whale a lot better when they're brooding than when they're relying on tired twee-pop cliches. Strong piano melodies and subtle orchestration play off each other well on most of the tracks, as Fink laments his break-up in a surprisingly non-trite manner. One would think that a "break-up album" would bring out the angrier side of a band, but such is not the case on The First Days of Spring. Instead Noah and the Whale rely on subdued instrumentation ("Our Window"), somber melodies ("Stranger"), and even a horn section ("Blue Skies") to craft an album that seems more appropriate for a winter release date rather than a late summer one. Fans of the infectious indie-pop that put Noah and the Whale on the map may need to spend more time with this album in order to appreciate it, but hopefully they will come around to a different and more complex side of the band.

DOWNLOAD: Noah and the Whale - The First Days of Spring [CherryTree]
Recommended Tracks: "The First Days of Spring," "My Broken Heart," "Love of an Orchestra," "Blue Skies."