The First Days of Spring Soundtracks a Heartbreaking Narrative
Noah and the Whale’s melancholic tones are equal parts beautiful, hopeful, and depressing.
Noah and the Whale
The First Days of Spring
Released on Sep 08, 2009
A cohesive album is a difficult thing to produce. Many bands can compose catchy songs and collect them on one disc, but far fewer can weave a narrative over the course of one track list. With The First Days of Spring, Noah and the Whale shows the entire trajectory of a break-up—from the dealing with the immediate fallout on the first track, to the first rays of hope, to the bitter acceptance that things just aren’t going to work out, no matter how much you think they should.
The title track, which is also the first on the album, offers beautiful metaphors for the moment right after a break-up. Singer Charlie Fink promises that “like a cut down tree/I will rise again/and I’ll be bigger and stronger than ever before.” However, right after this, he admits that he may still be hoping that his ex-lover may come back. The natural hesitant sound of his voice contradicts the confidence of that lyric—he may say he’ll rise up again, but he’s not entirely convinced. Because of the sparse instrumentation at the start of the track, nothing distorts the lyrics. Much like the fictional dumped one, you’re left with nothing but that sentiment.
The tracks that follow show the progression of emotions that include the necessary low periods: “I Have Nothing” and “My Broken Heart." However, a three-song sequence in the middle of the album serves as the turning point. “Instrumental I,” “Love of an Orchestra,” and “Instrumental II” are the songs that you listen to when you wake up and realize that you’re not as depressed as you were the day before. “Instrumental I” features a poppy piano and string section that sounds like the spring days in the title of the album.
“Love of an Orchestra” is easily the most beautiful track on the album, mainly because of the full choir utilized by the band and the great piano running throughout the track. The barebones instrumentation that classified the tracks before this one makes “Love of an Orchestra” sound downright whimsical. Fink sings about carrying the love of an orchestra with him, and how he’ll never be alone because of that. The choir refrains with “if you gotta run, run from hope,” which has a myriad of interpretations. So, even though it sounds happy enough, it’s got a slight warning with it.
“Instrumental II” takes a surprising step back into the more melancholic realm, but isn’t that how break-ups go? You may try to run with the first sign of positivity you get, but then you remember the hurt and the difficulty of moving on. They reference this in “Stranger,” a haunting track.
The final track, “My Door is Always Open” has the great lyrics that Noah and the Whale excel at producing, but the most stunning part comes at the end. His voice is still hesitant as he says “my heart’s not yours,” but almost to serve as reassurance for him, there’s a multi-voice folksy harmony at the end that climaxes with a more energetic guitar part and an almost pastoral feel.
This is one album that manages to soundtrack a break-up without resorting to awful clichés. It’s honest, with just the right amount musical creativity. If you’re going through some difficulties—or just want to hear a heartbreakingly real story—listen to this album right now. If anything, it reminds us that break-ups can’t be all that bad, especially when the pain ends with pastoral harmonies.
High Point
The lyrics of “Blue Skies” are almost elementary with Fink singing “this is a song for anyone with a broken heart,” but when they’re accented by more dense instrumentation, it becomes a song that encourages without becoming sappy.
Low Point
The first part is depressive (obviously), and not the thing you’ll want to play for your significant other to get them in the mood.
Posted by Alyssa Vincent on Sep 03, 2009 @ 6:00 am
