UK indie pop outfit Noah and the Whale have upped the ante with an epic concept album that may promise more than it delivers.
Heart of Nowhere is not just the five-piece’s fourth studio album, it will be companion to a half-hour short film as well. The commitment is there, with a series of album and single covers created to emulate indie film posters, the label logos positioned like film festival accolades, the track lists placed like credits. It’s an all-encompassing concept that could be a swelling success or an overwrought disaster, but nothing if not ambitious.
With this in mind, Heart of Nowhere is noticeably cinematic. It begins with a sweetly impressionistic score-like intro, echoing the pop-fuelled sounds of their previous record Last Night On Earth. Tinkering vibraphone and plucking strings swell into violins that seamlessly flow into the title track with a sour change of tune. Here is where the prologue ends, titles roll and Heart of Nowhere begins.
The title track is Noah and the Whale’s take on a blistering 80s power-ballad, a duet with Anna Calvi that brings rich harmony and raw feeling to the fore. It begins with a teenage couple, sneaking from their parents’ homes and running away to start a life together. Before they can turn the key and ride off into the sunset, the protagonist’s father, watching from the doorstep, suffers a heart attack and collapses. Our characters are stuck in a stand still, holding a finger to the no longer beating pulse of youth and turning to face whatever it is that lies ahead.
It continues on with All Through the Night, the rollicking escape and the denial of the end, before beleaguered acceptance on Lifetime. One More Night is the regret of a young and hasty marriage gone sour and like everything on this album, has a bittersweet feeling.
It picks up with the hopeful single There Will Come a Time, a soaring anthem that turns disappointment and loss into motivated vigor. It transitions perfectly into Now Is Exactly Time, with its self-affirming mantra: it’s “time to be out on your own again”, move on and find yourself.
While Last Night on Earth felt like sweet and hopeful reminiscing, Heart of Nowhere is lost and bittersweet, the natural comedown after too many nights spent feeling nostalgic. This is a come-down, morning after break-up album. The party is over, and this album is your comfort when you’re hungover and full of regret. Though we can anticipate the imminent short film to bolster the package, this is a great release that stands up on its own as an achievement in musical storytelling.
-Nat Tencic
Heart Of Nowhere is available where all good music is sold NOW!
