I may be hopping on this “band”wagon a bit late, but Noah And The Whale undeniably deserve the title as Shockya’s Artist Of The Week with their latest album, “Heart Of Nowhere”, which dropped on May 6th via Mercury Records. Following the release of “Last Night on Earth”, “The First Days of Spring” and “Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down”, the 10 track album is lyrically mesmerizing and relatable, which easily allowed me to forgive them for their awful 2011 single, “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.” No band should be wasting precious verses with spelling words or counting numbers for that matter.
Currently consisting of Charlie Fink (vocals, guitar), Tom Hobden (violin, keys), Matt Owens (bass), Fred Abbott (guitars, keys) and Michael Petulla (drums), Noah And The Whale began their careers back in 2006 in England. Until mid-2008, the band’s line-up included the 2011 Brit Awards’ winner for “Best Female Solo Artist”, Laura Marling, who also recently released a new album,“ Once I Was An Eagle”. Since their formation, the quintet has garnered steady success on the UK charts and is gearing up for a “permanent” U.S. breakthrough with “Heart Of Nowhere”.
Does Noah And The Whale’s latest release have the best vocals? No. Does it have the best instrumentals? No, but it is a fearless coming of age album that hits a lyrical mark that some of the best vocal and instrumental albums fall short of. On the tune, “Silver and Gold”, Fink sings, “Cause it’s okay to not always be sure exactly what it is you found, And love may not be the cure, but it’s at least a common ground”. These words are what every quarter-life crisis young adult needs to soak in to evade the pitfall of his or her mid-twenties.
So, give your parents, friends and therapists a break and let Noah And The Whale put you at ease with your life, no matter how unstructured your journey may be.
