Charlie Fink and the rest of the members of Noah and the Whale have moved through a set of band dynamics fit for the indie sweethearts they’ve become. Their first LP from 2008, “Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down,” was irresistibly clever and undoubtedly accessible. Backup vocals from the shiny-eyed Laura Marling set the stage for some seriously upbeat tunes. When she left the band some months later, Fink changed the mood. His conceptual sophomore effort, “The First Days of Spring,” came crashing in with some of the heaviest themes and sonic backdrops available in the genre, effectively inducting Noah and the Whale into the company of some extremely diverse songwriters.
Cheer up. With “Last Night on Earth,” Fink and friends want you to move away from their self-deprecating narrative, and into a retro-pop funscape lined with charming storytelling and motivational acronyms. There are a few songs that slow to a crawl, backed by 80’s inspired synth and the ever-present choral lift. “Forget the things that get away, don’t dream of yesterday,” muses the song “Old Joy,” helping fans recover from the sweet misery of their last effort, and almost begging us to acknowledge their ability to dramatically swing the mood.
The candy-laden single, “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.”, plays on the downtrodden lifestyles of hookers and starving artists to inspire a sense of optimism for the masses. You can’t help but imagine scores of the hip playfully spelling along to this unstoppable wave of catchiness. Hardcore mourners who cherished Fink’s depressing tone will either resent the newly-acquired happiness, or embrace the switched direction. It seems like many blue chip indie acts are moving to invent, but Noah and the Whale are ahead of the pack with their smiles and pop-rock intensity. As spring turns to summer, we might see fans finally warming up to their sunny disposition.
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