Friday night, the lads of Noah and the Whale completed their New York stay with a set at the Merc. They've been doing the in-store promotion and gigging thing all last week in support of their debut, Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down. I don't know need to tell you that band and their music is endearing, thoughtful and quirky.
Their live show displays the scrappy nature of the band. They have all the earmarks of a dynamic live act, but in the small confines of the Merc, they are a newbie band. I am really enamored of the music, so I get to see the great contrast they have been their more stripped down song to their big poppy hits. With a bigger stage, I can see them be even more dynamic.
Their best known tune, "Five Years Time" is the "Young Folks" of 2008 -- catchy, sunny and plenty of whistling. As I figured, that was the high point of the show. It was a straight-forward set, missing The Smiths cover, but including their "punk" song of an unreleased album. Well, it's their version of a punk song at least.
I do expect good things from the band in years to come. Friday was a good primer. They didn't blow me away, but I didn't think they would. Small stages beget small sounds, and thus it left me please and smiling. I can imagine them building up to a more visual show, as evident by their Wes Anderson inspired website and graphic design.
Previously:
- I talked to the band about their beginnings, working on the album and deli meats
Really wish I could have seen them this past week. Thanks for writing a review, I feel like too few people write reviews these days....
Posted by: The Elephant | September 22, 2008 at 09:29 PM