Local Natives: Gorilla Manor sampler
Local Natives: Gorilla Manor sampler
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Tuesday, 03, Nov 2009 01:42
Infectious, out now.
In a nutshell...
Fleet Foxes, Vampire Weekend and an orchestra.
What's it all about?
Despite being signed to Infectious over here in the UK, Local Natives haven't been snapped up yet in their home of the US, likely because their style appeals to our tastes at the moment - a slightly inoffensive, moaning-yet-happy brand of indie which has been mirrored by plenty of others. There's a different edge to Local Natives, though.
Who's it by?
Hailing from Silverlake, the Local Natives boys are made up of Matt Frazier on drums, Taylor Rice on vocals and guitar, Kelcey Ayer on keyboards and vocals, bassist Andy Hamm and additional guitarist Ryan Hahn, who also shares plenty of the singing. It's a strange affair where harmonised voices make up a large part of their charm, though it's anyone's guess to know whether or not it will be pulled off as well as it has been by their predecessors in the full release.
What the others say
"A genuinely intriguing and uncategorisable affair, which repays endless listening and even then is capable of springing surprises." - Times
"A distinguishingly promising introduction." - The-Fly.co.uk (on single The Sun)
So is it any good?
There's only six songs from the full release anticipated at some point in the near future, though it's safe to say that Local Natives are putting their best feet first.
One thing that must be said about the mix available is that it's genuinely varied. While an element of barbershop quartet (well, trio) is evident in pretty much every song at one time or another, there's certain flavours of Fleet Foxes, Vampire Weekend and other Williamsburg-esque indie bands who put a lot of focus on remaining cool through, and alongside, their music.
This lot, however, are just relaxing to listen to. While the opening track Camera Talk is genuinely upbeat, the undertones of bass, as well as the strings, don't make you particularly energetic; it's just comforting. Even the refrain is relatively easy to absorb. It's pure iPod-on-a-winter's-day-walking-through-town music; enough of a beat to give you a constant stride, but not enough to make you run, walk with a strut or have you bouncing between each step.
However, others like Cards and Quarters are more akin to a US version of Glasvegas, except without the abundant misery and a little more on the music side of things. It's slow and low and still pretty sad, yet it's not something that actively gets you involved on a true emotional level. That's actually a plus point, by the way - I know we all love to be connected to our music, but this is a welcome break. Besides, it's the harmonised vocals to give some depth, not disconsolate minor notes.
The safest thing that can be said is that this lot are quite likely to make it big, should their full release be as impressive as this taster. I say impressive; in reality, they're similar enough to other popular bands who have made it that they can't really fail.
That's not to detract from their edge, though; the harmony works well enough for them to have added depth to certain tunes - notably Stranger Things - while their inclusion of classical instruments in others such as Who Knows Who Cares is a real delight to the ears.
And gathering from their blog, the band's use of Twitter, interaction with other groups (notably Golden Silvers) and gig feedback, they seem like genuinely great guys too - even if the cover of Gorilla Manor is unbearably cliched and a bit pretentious. Ho hum - there's been worse.
The full album, which is double the size at 12 tracks, will be good. That's judging it on these six tracks alone though - mind you, even if the other six were white noise, it's still worth a buy.
8/10
Matt Gardner