Sun, Sun, Sun?

It was a sad day last year when Noah and the Whale canceled their Los Angeles performance at the Troubadour with the excuse that they were working hard on their second album The First Day of Spring. Well here it is, the title track, "The First Day of Spring", and if you were expecting a pop-folk track, you will be horribly disappointed. But all is not lost. Although the song lacks that folk-pop-fiddle feel it takes on a whole new realm of music that feels like a step forward for the Euro-band. Think less hand clapping and more orchestral swelling. Personally I love Noah and the Whale, and I'm sure I will support their upcoming album regardless of how it sounds, I'm just that biased. However, I will acknowledge the fact that I may prefer their old sound. Yes I'm glad that the band is maturing, and yes I love the fact that there are more strings, but my favorite part of Noah in the Whale is their mixture of upbeat music with generally depressing subject matter. The First Day of Spring sounds like it is keeping the subject matter and losing the flare.

First Day of Spring is said to have a running narrative discussing the downside of a relationship and is also said to be accompanied by a film sometime after the album is released. "The First Day of Spring" is Noah and the Whale's way of breaking the world into their new sound, but Blue Skies is supposedly their official first single off the album. So we won't be able to fully know if Noah and the Whale's The First Day of Spring has lost all it's "Fun, Fun, Fun" until that track is released.

Noah and the Whale- The First Day of Spring