With their sophomore album, Hummingbird, Local Natives has revealed their darker and more serious side.
Though I enjoy the album, it is not an instant hit.
Hummingbird was released almost a month ago, on January 29th, and it has taken me that long to fully grasp the concepts Taylor Rice, Kelcey Ayer, Ryan Hahn and Matt Frazier are trying to present.
Though sticking with similar elements of harmonizing and swelling melodies, Hummingbird is more low key than anything else we have heard from the California based band. The invigorating “oohs and ahhs” we loved Local Natives for in their debut album Gorilla Manor, are now full of heartbroken brooding.
And while there isn’t anything wrong with a sad song, this album took it a little too far for me. Rather than providing listeners with insightful ideas or new musical concepts, Hummingbird wallows in sadness with a sound that is nothing extraordinary.
The album begins with the somber song “You & I,” in which lead singer Taylor Rice cries out the first lyrics “ You and I/ we were always strong,” then continues to ask “When did our love grow cold?”
About halfway into the ten-song-album it seems the songs might be taking a turn for the happier, with a catchy intro into the song “Breakers.” But upon further analysis listeners realize the song is rather gloomy, with the lyrics “breathing out/ hoping to breath in/ I know nothing’s wrong, but I’m not convinced.” (See video)
The final song “Bowery,” seems to encompass the idea of the album with ominous tones and lyrics like “the fall was so much faster than you and I could ever climb.”
After listening, I left the album asking who was this person that caused these new emotions for the once cheery Local Natives?
Maybe it’s not one person, but a conglomeration of the band members’ past pain. Or maybe the album is actually about the pain of ex- bassist Andy Hamm leaving the band in 2011… but that’s a stretch.
Some might wish for this mystery person to undo the pain he or she caused them and give us back the old Local Natives that we know and love.
But I wouldn’t go that far.
While the album isn’t any Gorilla Manor, I don’t think this is the end for Local Natives. It seems the band is going through a transitional period, attempting to deal with more serious issues, but they aren’t quite there yet. They are missing something new and unique that we don’t get from them in this album.
But does anyone remember Neon Bible by Arcade Fire? Most people probably do not. It was the band’s second album; it wasn’t bad by any means, but it also wasn’t iconic like their first and third albums.
Cut to three years later though and Arcade Fire released The Suburbs, won a Grammy, and helped make the indie-music scene what it is today.
Though Hummingbird is not my favorite album, I’ll keep listening. Give Local Natives another three years, let the “Arcade Fire Effect” swoop in, and get excited for what the band has in store.