Staff Reviews

Noah & The Whale - Last Night on Earth

Review by Lauren Strain

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after the cinematic and introspective 2009 epic 'the first day of spring', it would appear on first blush that charlie fink and band - aka noah and the whale - have traded spring's dramatic strings and lyrics detailing a dissolving relationship for a more upbeat, straight-ahead affair with 'last night on earth'. former bandmate / bedmate laura marling may have left her mark on the besotted mr fink - as he dissected in the acclaimed spring - but as he states in new lead track 'l.i.f.e.g.o.e.s.o.n.' ...well, you get the picture. shades of a tom petty melodic / ironic inflection leak through here and there as fink's distinctive voice imparts a redoubled focus now that the protagonist is 'going your own way.' even more promising is 'wild thing', a sweeping, brilliantly conceived track that frankly wouldn't have seemed out of place on the more conceptual scope of 'the first day of spring'. a scintillating, richly detailed production of radiant electronics punctuated with a reverbed guitar twang builds slowly and methodically around a mournful fink vocal, a lou reed sally can't dance nocturne updated with plush upholstery and the warmth of a morning sun. recorded in l.a. with producer jason lader (brandi carlisle, julian casablancas), the ten-track, brief (33 minute) 'last night on earth' is what fink describes as a collection of 'story songs'.
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