TUnESDAY: Noah and the Whale

Twinkie the Kid:
as American as
100% synthetic cream
and indestructable sponge cake.

In all honesty, this post is aimed more at anyone outside of the UK who might stumble across this blog. Not because I’m intentionally ignoring my British besties, but because if you have listened to a radio or been anywhere near a festival in the last two or three years, you will already be familiar with today’s TUnESDAY selection: Noah and the Whale.

Noah (and the aforementioned Whale) are, I guess, classified as an ‘indie folk’ band who got together in 2006 in Twickenham. Their first single release, 5 Years Time didn’t do much when it first played in 2007 – but when it was re-released in 2008 and flooded the playlists (see what I did there?) it got to #7 in the UK and just breeched the top 10 in Ireland. For a debut single, it sets a pretty good standard of what we might think to expect from NatW – bend your ears around it here.

The only single to come out of their second album was Blue Skies – but it only reached #95 in the UK. The band released the single as part of the album ‘The First Days of Spring’ which, apparently, also doubled as the title of a film made by the band. An interesting concept, and the film looks to be as powerful as the music that accompanies it. You can watch the trailer for the film here, and download the album (with movie) from iTunes.

More recently, the guys have released their third album and seem to be gathering followers at a steady pace. The first single from 2011’s ‘The Last Night on Earth’ was L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. and, for my liking, was a bit too close to The Kink’s Lola. Nevertheless, it seemed honest enough and the appeal of the style and melody is hard to ignore. They’ve followed it up with ‘Tonight’s the Kind of Night’ – a more up-beat but still very folky tune… still a little bit of Lou Reed, though prettier and softer to be sure. I’m excited about Noah and his Whale; I think they have a sound that’s accessible and unique. I worry, though, that they may take themselves too seriously, and hope they have the good sense and artistic integrity not to sell out too much. I’ll be watching this space – hope you’ll join me!