AMS album of the week 10

Local Natives have never been groundbreaking. They stood out not because they were doing something different to their peers, but because they were doing it quite well. Their second album, Hummingbird, does not break the trend. It wears its influences on its sleeve and they’re pretty much the same as last time round. It’s a fairly well informed American indie record. Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective, a little Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, a bit of Broken Social Scene and Grizzly Bear. Yeah alright, it’s essentially just slightly poppier Grizzly Bear.

This is a very difficult record to review. There’s nothing particularly bad about any of it. There’s no bad songs to complain about. The songs all slot together nicely. It’s a nice record. It’s just it’s nothing more than nice. At no point is it anything more or less than nice. There aren’t really any good songs to rave about either. The whole thing is just fairly flat, and the level isn’t high enough for that to keep your attention. The songs all blend together because you stop paying enough attention to tell them apart. To call it bland seems cruel. None of the individual songs are bland, they’re all fairly decent tracks. The problem is, the total is pretty bland.

In terms of song quality there are a few peaks. The first half of ‘You & I’ is pretty, and the last minute or so of ‘Black Spot’ is pretty good. ‘Mt. Washington’ is the best track here as far as I’m concerned. In fact, I’d say it’s the only track which breaks the mould at all. It’s not stylistically different, it’s just really good. It’s the only track I can still see myself listening to in a few weeks time.

In terms of songwriting they seem to have matured a bit. By this I mean they’ve cut out the exuberant bits. Gorilla Manor had the high-spirited ‘Airplanes’ and ‘Sun Hands’ to break up the flow, this has a few fairly dreary ballads. I suppose it’s a bit more subtle and better thought out, but it’s not as fun, and I don’t think that’s a worthwhile trade. Hummingbird is not a big change though. Big fans of Gorilla Manor will probably find this quite enjoyable. Casual fans probably shouldn’t bother.