I am a big, big Noah and the Whale fan, so I was super stoked to get their new album The First Days of Spring. I had high hopes considering how utterly awesome Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down was and I have to say, though not disappointed, it's not what I was expecting. The main reason I like them is that, if you listen to Peaceful, it's not really a happy album. Even '5 Years Time' acknowledges the possibility of today's happiness disappearing, and '2 Atoms in a Molecule' is really just a meditation on the inability to be with someone else. But the key is that these songs sound happy. They reflect my own personal cynicism without making me want to kill myself. FTW.
But Spring doesn't really do that. Spring is just straight up sad. The girl is gone, the boy is alone, if things ever do get better...it will be a long time from now.
And it's for this reason that having Spring be my main soundtrack for this past weekend's endless road tripping would have been a horrible idea WERE IT NOT for one key track. 'Love of an Orchestra' still contains the pessimistic lyrics I tend to love ("if you gotta run, run from hope") and is based on the idea that one doesn't need people, really, because music is just as good, but it lays all of this out over a totally infectious string-driven base that makes me grin and lunge for the repeat button.
Here, check it out:
On the actual album, the track before it is actually an extended instrumental intro which I recommend incorporating into your daily listening. Really, just go get the album. Sad or not, it's still pretty great.
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I still do not have this album. Mostly because I want a physical copy, not an itunes one. But I did listen to it approximately 3984203 times on NPR's website. I agree--it's a great album, and I'm not disappointed, but it's not the Noah and the Whale that I'm used to. This song is fantastic, though.
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