An audience can make or break a gig, and at Liverpool University the young capacity crowd really transformed this experience with their enthusiasm. I had an image in my mind of Noah and The Whale as a worthy indie folk act, but these guys can rock. I was surprised by their energy, and whilst we saw their tender side when they sung about love, by the end of the show everyone was dancing and singing.
They ended with their recent single "L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.", and by this stage I’d completely forgotten about ‘normal’ life and was absorbed in the celebratory atmosphere, joining in the collective waving of hands in the air. After an amazing show by Joseph Arthur recently I feared this would be an anti-climax, but a sign of a great show is that even when sleep deprived the morning after, the world feels joyful, and my spirits are still high.
The five piece support band exlovers warmed the audience up with their low-fi indie pop. To my mind, the vocals were weaker than the guitar work, and the word ‘shoe-gaze’ is appropriate, but they were entertaining to watch. I’d been expecting to see Anna Calvi, unaware that she’d cancelled, but I liked exlovers’ dreamy feel, even if there were few truly memorable individual moments.
Noah and the Whale’s set was relatively short (one hour plus 15 minutes' encores), and ended all too quickly. They didn’t restrict themselves to their latest (35 minute) album Last Night on Earth: instead we were also treated to highlights from earlier work, including the more reflective and acoustic First Days of Spring (inspired by lead Charlie Fink’s break-up with Laura Marling). "5 Years Time" from their first album, Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down, was upbeat, but to me a highlight of the set was from The First Days of Spring, since "Blue skies are calling" sticks in the mind of anyone who has had a broken heart. However, their newest work is not so much about the pain love causes as the joy of living life to the full; this has resonance.
Fink is very much the centrepiece of the band, and it was clear that he has many adoring female fans in Liverpool. He’s versatile, full of enthusiasm, and an accomplished vocalist. It’s perhaps no surprise I felt so uplifted with lyrics such as this on ‘Life is Life’: “Gonna change his ways. And it feels like his new life can start. And it feels like Heaven.” The album was recorded in LA, and perhaps they were influenced by its sunshine and California optimism.
The folk roots of the band are illustrated by their love of melody, the inclusion of a fiddle (Tom Hobden), and the bittersweet melancholic element of some of their songs. Their new style may have been influenced by Arcade Fire’s grandeur, even if they don't reach quite their musical heights. Some critics have been a little bewildered by this move to a more contemporary, mainstream idiom, but they carry it off confidently and interpret it with originality, so they can be exhilarating, emotional, and uplifting.
NATW made a big, full sound, complete with syth, and there was a sense of optimism and confidence with a carefully planned set which took us through a wide range of emotions and left us on a high. They have transcended the nu-folk genre and pulled off this new vision with a more creative and adventurous sound. If you’d previously hesitated about going to see them live, wondering if they’d be engaging enough, I’d urge you to rethink.
Fortuitously I’ll be seeing them again in a few months’ time supporting Arcade Fire, but seated in a stadium setting rather than standing right at the front of a packed hall (this show was a sell-out). I started this review mentioning my unjustified fears that this gig wouldn’t live up to the memories of the last one I’d attended, so I really should stop worrying my next encounter might pale in comparison with last night's.
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