Album Review: Local Natives - Hummingbird

Local Natives
Hummingbird
Rating: Woof Daddy

The album cover for Local Natives' sophomore album Hummingbird shows a man desperately clinging to the roof of a building, legs dangling out into the clouds, surrounded by two faceless men who seem unable to help. The image sets the tone for the record, a melancholy and bleak collection of tracks full of doubts, fears, and loneliness. A far cry from the upbeat and joyously goofy debut album Gorilla Manor, Hummingbird comes from a darker place, influenced by the departure of bassist Andy Hamm and the death of singer Kelcey Ayer's mother. The characters that inhabit these songs fear abandonment, live through abusive relationships, suffer crippling self-doubt, essentially being thrown out into the cold world unprotected by the youthful dreams of their counterparts in Gorilla Manor.

Fittingly, this bleaker and more realistic view of the world comes with a more mature musical and production approach. While Gorilla Manor was loose and free and very lo-fi, Hummingbird, produced by The National's Aaron Dessner, amps up things considerably, featuring a clearer and more polished technique, giving these songs breadth and depth not apparent on their debut. It also seems that touring with The National and with Arcade Fire has given the band greater confidence to expand their sound into grander territory.

The difference is apparent from the opening track "You And I" which begins quietly and unassumingly. Ayer's voice playing with falsetto and more texture, borrowing some from Thom Yorke's playbook, portraying the pain of an abusive relationship. The gently ringing guitars rising into a malevolent swirl towards song's end, the lyrics growing bleaker: "All I feel is dark/Had the sun without its warmth/I'm freezing."



Borrowing from The National's intricate sense of rhythm, "Heavy Feet" bounces along a militaristic drum pattern, with trembling guitars and nervous strings over top. The singer looking back at youthful folly in light of new found maturity, singing "What you said I wrote it down/but wont say, wont speak - the same/Maybe I know better than to read more than what's there."



In the most honest and open song they've written so far, Local Natives step into the advanced class with "Columbia," a tender, raw tribute to Ayer's mother. Ayer's voice is heartbreakingly open and honest, worried his mother never knew how he felt about her. His aching words of "If you never knew how much/If you never felt all of of my love/I pray now you do" linger long in your head.



One of the biggest complaints about Local Natives is that they don't transcend their influences. And yes, it is clear they listen to and try to emulate the East Coast experimental folk of Grizzly Bear, the intricate harmonies of Fleet Foxes, the sweep of Arcade Fire, and the stature of The National, but they also have their own personality and original take on said influences. The more personal nature of the lyrics on Hummingbird go far in moving Local Natives into their own territory. From the self doubt of "Breakers" ("Breathing out/Hoping to breathe in /I know nothing's wrong, but I'm not convinced."), desperation to win someone back on "Three Months" ("I keep on calling just to get the machine."), to the fear of death in "Black Spot" ("And if I didn't know to be afraid/the faces made me sure that I do now."), these are heady adult themes that are a far cry from the youthful exuberance of their earlier work.

Hummingbird is such a huge leap forward from Gorilla Manor it might as well be the work of a different band. Lyrically intimate yet musically adventurous and expansive, these tracks soar when they should and pull you deep inside when necessary. While it is not quite a masterpiece, I liken it to Grizzly Bear's Yellow House, in that it marks a definitive shift towards marking one's own territory. Whether or not their next album is a Veckatimest remains to be seen. But I will be definitely anticipating it.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.