Five Years Time - Some Noah and the Whale Songs

Introduction

One of the things about my large CD collection is that I dip into it and rediscover great albums, songs and artists that had sort of slipped off my listening map.

Noah and the Whale were active between 2006 and 2015 and you can find out a little about them from their Wikipedia page.

They have four albums so there will be a few selections from each one

• Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down (2008)
• The First Days of Spring (2009)
• Last Night on Earth (2011)
• Heart of Nowhere (2013)

The first song I heard from them is the one that starts this playlist and I loved it from the first moment I heard it and still do.

I will include a link to each album for the sections of this playlist.

"Five Years Time" from "Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down"

From the initial whistled intro and the livelier ukulele (I think) this is just one of the purest life-affirming songs that you will ever treat your ears to. This could apply to all of us and I always hope that in five years time, I will still be friends with those that have lit up my life, An absolute beauty.

"2 Atoms In A Molecule" from "Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down"

This is the album opener with some beautiful guitar work creating a wonderful love song from chemical relationships. The complexity of the words meld into a wonderful construction with some great lines like

"If Love Is Just A Game How Come I've Never Won?"

And then all too soon it is finished.

"The First Days Of Spring" also soundtracks an eponymous film which Charlie Fink wrote and directed that runs the entire length of the album.

"The First Days Of Spring" Eponymous Title Song

This starts with an almost funereal slow drum beat before some beauteous instrumentation drifts in and you are not sure which way this is going but the opening line:

"It's the first day of spring, and my life is starting over again"

This is the start of the soundtrack of Charlie Fink's film which I am still trying to track down but is about continuing after losing someone special to him.

Fink decided not to feature female backing vocals on their second LP due to the painful but inspiring departure of Laura Marling to pursue a solo career.

"I'm still here hoping that one day you may come back"

"Blue Skies" from "The First Days Of Spring"

"This is a song for anyone with a broken heart"

The opening line says it all and this was the first single from the album, and is an absolute beauty.

NME called the album "immense" and gave it 9/10, whilst The Times awarded the album a full five stars.Towards the end of 2009 The Guardian newspaper put it at number 7 in their top albums of the year. The Times newspaper put the album at number 9, and was also in Amazon's top albums of 2009.

"Life Is Life" from "Last Night On Earth"

The album opener, the scream at the start of the video is not on the album. This is a continuation of the growth themes after "The First Days Of Spring" situation.

"And it feels like his new life can start"

"Tonight's The Kind Of Night" from "Last Night On Earth"

This is where the journey really kicks into gear where our protagonist realises that things can get much better.

"L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N." from "Last Night On Earth"

Possibly my favourite Noah and the Whale song and it spells a bitter but ultimately sweet positivity. The opening three songs from this album are great "getting life back on a good track" anthems.

"Lifetime" from "Heart of Nowhere"

This beauty is a recording before the release of their last album and the music is a positive slice of Noah and the Whale to close this playlist. I know if you have listened tothese songs then you will probably soon love the band as much as I do.