ARTIST:
Noah and the Whale


ALBUM:
The First Days of Spring


KEY TRACKS:
Love of an Orchestra
The First Days of Spring
Stranger
Blue Skies

Noah and the Whale's current lineup

"Blue Skies are Coming, but I know that it's Hard"

Charlie Fink has had a hard time.  And if you can't sense it in his heartbroken lyrics, then listen to the sadness laced in his voice.  This guy's been through hell and it's all over this album.  

Of course, it hasn't been the easiest few years for this UK band with 2 members leaving the band:  one being Charlie's (now ex) girlfriend and more recently his brother.  And obviously it's an interesting turn that this band has taken.  Their up-beat, folksy harmonies that made them popular on their first album are gone.  Now slow and somber melodies take their place with Fink's tender and emotional vocals.  This break up between Charlie and fellow folk singer Laura Marling, did more than just shrink the band's number, it was the catalyst for this whole album.  

Noah and the Whale circa 2009

However saddening it may sound, there is such a raw intensity to these songs and in Fink's voice lies an incredible understanding of the human condition.  These lyrics are so personal (especially on Stranger)  that the listener is taken in frontman Charlie's emotional break up first hand.  

As the album progresses Noah and the Whale navigate the emotional highs and incredible lows of this vulnerable time.  The wild and hopeful strings on Love of an Orchestra, suggest optimism with Fink's voice rising above proclaiming, "I'll never be lonely, I've got songs in my blood".  

And with the wildly hopeful, there is overwhelming sadness.   Noah and the Whale captured this in the album's true gem Blue Skies.  "This is a song for anyone who would do anything to be happy", Fink croons amidst the lonely guitar strings.

And by the album, it seems Charlie has finally come to terms with this emotional turmoil, knowing that it will be okay...eventually.  Indeed, time does heal the majority of all emotional wounds, but it seems for this band, writing emotional melodies, with even more emotional lyrics is a form of healing as well.  

Truth be told, I miss the old Noah and the Whale.  I miss their happy "twee" melodies and folksy delivery.  But, to their credit, The First Days of Spring is a mature album that displays the incredible depth of this band as well as Fink's natural knack for sensitive lyrics.  And this band grows through line up changes, break ups, or other emotional turmoils it is interesting to see how their sound will change with them.   

LISTEN: BLUE SKIES | LOVE OF AN ORCHESTRA | STRANGER  | FIRST DAYS OF SPRING

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