Noah and the Whale - Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down (Album)
When a band is named after a famous director/ movie combination, it’s usually pretty clear that their underlying musical thesis is going to be. If a band was called Jerry and the Armageddon’s they would not only be awesome, but you’d also make music that was about as deep as a puddle. It’s the same with Noah and the Whale (named after Noah Bararauch and his tale of mid-70’s divorce The Squid and the Whale)- it’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect. A twee tinged record that focuses on sentimentality bordering on obsession and hokey sweet sentiments. It loves the sick and the sad, the loneliness that rolls quietly through the hills.
Lead singer Charlie Fink is never afraid to spout a cliché (or ten) about heartbreak as he whizzes between whimsical humor (Two Atoms in a Molecule) and soulful balladeering (Hold My Hand As I’m Lowered). The album’s twee infected sound never quite holds onto the momentum it builds for Two Atoms. Over the usual acoustic guitar handclap and sickly sweet percussion, blah waxes on the frustrations of love. I’m not trying to write a love song, just another sad moan he admits. The schism between the two styles is the albums biggest failing. When it’s being witty it partially succeeds, it’s not brilliant, but it enough to smile at- a cutsey take on folk music that loves remembering the good times. That changes when it starts take itself too seriously. The wry winds shift and the album takes on a less interesting tone- one full of clichés and uninteresting rhymes (although, they still deserve kudos for sneaking the word ‘bereavements’ in out of nowhere.
The rest of the album falls victim to his laconic and lazy voice that never quite carries the emotion it needs. He sounds like an empty page, with rarely showing any kind of connection with the lyrics and droning away in his thankfully-not-too British accent. He fares best with the gorgeous female harmonizing of Laura Marling. Tracks like Five Years Time sparkle , each playing Sonny to the other’s Cher, delivering voices that weave in and out of each other like dirty city alleys.
Like an iridescent light, the album changes depending on the way that you view it. Songs like the jaunty Five Years Time can be depressing as a dead kitten or uplifting as a perfect sunset depending on the mood you enter into them with. The album focuses more on feelings and theme than specific moments, leading to some philosophical pondering that doesn’t always make sense. If you don’t believe in god, how can you believe in Love? asks a bewildered Fink, perhaps setting up Richard Dawkins for a lifetime of unfulfillment and loneliness.
