Personal upheavals, crises and new beginnings are often a good breeding ground for strong albums.
All of this is also true for the American indie band Local Natives. There have been weddings, some of the band members have become fathers, and then there was this phase in which little culture happened outside of one’s own four walls. It was precisely during this phase that the ten new tracks by the band from L.A. were created. Tastefully produced by Grammy award-winner John Congleton (Death Cab for Cutie, Warpaint, Midlake etc.), the dynamically arranged tracks bubble out of the speakers, with only the rather compressed-sounding drums perhaps not being the Highender’s best friend.
Otherwise, guitar, bass, vocals and flat keyboards find their place in the arrangement (“Empty Mansions”). Americana influences are emphasized by powerful arrangements from the familiar clichés of the genre, and beautiful vocal samples such as in “Paper Lanterns” also make the album unique. The stylistic diversity is impressive and reminds me in part of Jonathan Wilson or Josh Rouse (“Hourglass”). I strongly urge you to listen to this one back to back!
Local Natives – Time Will Wait For No One
Label: Loma Vista Recordings/Universal
Format: CD, Vinyl, DL
Local Natives – Time Will Wait For No One on Bandcamp