Frenchkiss Records (2013)
By RYAN REED | January 30, 2013
 |
Local Natives' sophomore album bows out with closer "Bowery," a brooding indie-rock epic. But its true climax arrives a track earlier. "Colombia," written by co-frontman Kelcey Ayer after the death of his mother, is an unflinchingly honest and uncommonly beautiful piano ballad — and the finest song of the LA quartet's young career. "The day after I had counted all of your breaths down until there were none," Ayer sings, his raw tenor on the verge of collapse, "a hummingbird crashed right in front of me." In the hands of a less skilled band, this sort of artful sincerity would approach preciousness — but Local Natives aren't your run-of-the-mill indie-rock outfit. From day one (and their harmony-laced 2009 debut, Gorilla Manor), these guys have been wise beyond their years, destined for the long haul — three singing multi-instrumentalist songwriters (Ayer, Taylor Rice, Ryan Hahn) and a drummer (Matt Frazier) with a rare gift of knowing how to write with his kit, always propelling the songs forward. Hummingbird maintains that level of sophisticated craft, but it's more than just a quality sequel. Recorded with artistic mentor Aaron Dessner in his Brooklyn home garage-studio, these new songs are darker, sparser, more jagged and eerie; though you can detect the influence of Dessner's main act, the National, the producer's influence is more spiritual than sonic. He's helped Local Natives — already a judicious group of arrangers — strip back and rough up their music. "Ceilings" is another tense and dreamy track, with Frazier's crackling tom-toms functioning as a lead instrument, anchoring the dampened pianos and glistening guitar figures. On "Three Months," Ayer channels his grief once more, crooning over quiet strings and dusty drum samples. Local Natives are no longer indie-rock over-achievers; with the stunning, heart-wrenching Hummingbird, they're officially the real fucking deal.LOCAL NATIVES + SUPERHUMANOIDS:: House Of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St, Boston :: March 30 :: 6 pm :: All Ages :: $22 to $45 :: 888.693.2583 or hob.com/boston
Related:
Review: Sonny Rollins at Symphony Hall, Skipp Whitman | Skipp City, Occult Detective Club | Crimes, More 
- Review: Sonny Rollins at Symphony Hall
The lines were around the block for will-call and walk-up ticket purchases at Symphony Hall Sunday night — causing the show to start a half hour after its advertised curtain time. The place was nearly full, the mood celebratory. All good to see in a down economy. But this was the first disappointing Sonny Rollins concert I’ve attended in years.
- Skipp Whitman | Skipp City
I was hardly expecting one of the freshest rap discs this year to come out of Brookline.
- Occult Detective Club | Crimes
It's tough coming up with anything new in punk rock that isn't going to sound as if you were trying too hard to reinvent something that's as basic as it gets
- Radiohead | The King of Limbs
OK Consumer?
- Tal Gamlieli Quartet at Lily Pad
Sometimes it's all a matter of making complex things simple. Or revealing the complex depths beneath simple surfaces.
- DevilDriver | Beast
Would it be blasphemous to compare DevilDriver with the almighty Pantera? Sure, perhaps. But the only reference for the bludgeoning brutality of Beast is the latter days of the Texas-based metal militants and their pushing of the envelope into breakneck energy, aggression, and power
- Screw the Ides of March — beware Bodega Girls
When music writers start playing the futures game, it's usually a good idea to take our prognostications with a grain of salt. That said, if there's one wager you can bet the house on this year, it's that Boston's Bodega Girls will spend 2011 on a giant winning streak, whether they like it or not. Lock it up.
- Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone
Lev Anderson and Chris Metzler's documentary details Fishbone's quarter-century journey from musically-diverse South Central middle school classmates to becoming one of the most influential Los Angeles bands of the '80s.
- Review: Joyful Noise
There's not much joy but there's plenty of noise of the rafter-rocking gospel singing variety in Tony Graff's musical dramedy.
- Alex Chilton | Free Again: The ''1970'' Sessions
Post–Box Tops and pre-Big Star, Alex Chilton was an 18-year-old Memphis boy on his way to his dual identity: former #1 pop hitmaker, perpetual underground hero.
- Cardinal | Hymns
After a nearly two-decade silence, chamber-pop duo Cardinal emerge from their near-mythic hibernation with the sleepy-eyed, Beatles-underwater gem "Northern Soul," which crawls out of the speakers as if to say, "Yeah, we've been gone since 1994 — but really, don't mind us!"
- Less
Topics:
CD Reviews
, Music, review, Local Natives
