Noah and The Whale - Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down

Genre folk Publisher CherryTree Records

Unless you were living under a rock this summer, you would have seen the feel good Saturn SUV commercial featuring the song ‘5 Years Time’ by the British band Noah and The Whale.  If you listen to the debut album from Noah and The Whale, you can almost imagine the commercials and quirky movie soundtracks that many of the songs could be a part of.  Not surprisingly the band’s name is a mixture of the title of their favorite Indie movie The Squid and the Whale, and the name of the director of the aforementioned movie (Noah Baumbach).  

The quartet is comprised of Charlie Fink (vocals, guitar), Doug Fink (drums), Tom Hobden (fiddle), and Matt Urby (bass).   One of the original members who is featured on the album, Laura Marling, went solo before the album’s release, but still performs with the band on occasion.  The self-described punk band is more rock than punk and more folk than anything.  The band sites another British band, The Smiths as one of their big influences, and have even been known to cover classic Smiths songs such as 'Girlfriend in a Coma' at their live shows. 

The influence of The Smiths can be felt in the lyrics of songs such as ‘Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down’.  Their lyrics are often times melancholy if not painful, but insightful enough to keep you interested.  The takeaway from Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down is that folk doesn’t always have to be about peace and politics, but folk by definition is about telling a good tale.  These stories can be about love, life, death or all of the above as the quartet masterfully does in the title track.  

Charlie Fink’s vocals are reminiscent of Stephin Merritt (Magnetic Fields, The 6ths, The Gothic Archies).  Like Merritt, whose music coincidentally was featured in a Volvo commercial last summer, Fink is able to bring lyrics to life, whether sweet or bittersweet.  And the jaunty way Noah and the Whale moves us through feel good tunes like ‘5 Years Time’ and somber tunes like ‘Death By Numbers’ is not only skillful but almost seamless.

The album, however will almost certainly disappoint those who are hoping for 12 tracks of 'Fun, Fun, Fun' as stated in ‘5 years time’.  The majority of the album is dark at best.  But, for those who are looking for substance and a modern, relevant take on Folk, Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down will swallow you up.