Unfortunately; Mumford & Sons are one of the most criminally overrated acts of recent memory and like all somewhat undeserving bands; there's always more that should receive the critical and public adulation.
Now; you could argue and say Noah and the Whale had their moment in the sun six years ago with 5 Years Time (although it only became a hit in the summer of '08...so that was five years ago...anyway). But, and here's the kicker; Noah and the Whale have released follow-up after follow-up of better albums, each evolving to the point where their original folk influence has all but dissipated (except The First Days of Spring, which was one of the best albums of 2009) but as accessible as their debut to relatively decent sales, but never the same global acclaim as say, Mumford & Sons
Now; putting aside the ramblings of my inner fanboy; Noah and the Whale's forth album Heart of Nowhere, the album itself stands out as one of the summer's better pop albums with the album, rather than having a narrative that makes other soundtracks and concept album's individual tracks impossible to listen to solo.
You could argue that every track on the album minus the Introduction could be a potential single, although it's success may vary.
It continues the tradition of a strong opener with the aforementioned Introduction which leads to the title track; sharp strings, pounding drums, a catchy hook with catchy lyrics and featuring strong female vocals by Anna Calvi, it's a fantastic track and one of the band's best.
From there, the album rears back the sound of Last Night on Earth with All Through the Night and stays pretty much for the remaining half hour. All Through the Night, Silver and Gold and lead single There Will Come a Time all come across as incredibly accessible but a bit too familiar.
Of course, the album does return to the sounds of Heart of Nowhere with Lifetime, again utilising violin as the lead sound, Fink delivering a catchy chorus and an explosive bridge, it's these moments that the album should have been made of, but instead, Heart of Nowhere finds itself jumping between it's sharper, more focused direction or the sound of two years ago.
That's not to say there's slow songs too; One More Night takes the eighties influence that made an appearance with Tonight's the Kind of Night and multiplies it tenfold with a soulful, ambient and bizarrely romantic song that quickly looses it's romantic connotations as soon as Fink's baritone vocals come into play.
It ends with Not Too Late, which, rather than take inspiration from Last Night on Earth, rears back to The First Days of Spring; a mournful and sombre closing number of self-reflection much like every Noah and the Whale closer, it's not as good as the previous albums, but it's a fine song in any right.
For all it's brief moments of change; Heart of Nowhere delivers, it's an album compromised of potential singles and all range from decent to fantastic. The main problem lies with how overly familiar the record is to it's predecessor. If you fell in love with Last Night on Earth, there's very little reason why you won't love Heart of Nowhere just as much.
For fans hoping for a radical departure or even some consistent change, it's here where Heart of Nowhere falters. It's not a bad record in the slightest and at just over half an hour long, it stays at just the right amount of time before the dreaded boredom settles in.
It's just unfortunate that, chances are, you've heard the majority of this album before and at certain points, it's been done better too.
7/10
H
You've made some good points, I agree with what you say about Mumford & sons. I've written a review too, can you please check it out? The link is: http://theaudioaudit.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1
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