by Michelle Singer
Noah and the Whale are in Seattle settling in before they embark on the first night of their North American tour to support their fourth album Heart of Nowhere. Tom Hobden (violin, keys) is hanging out in the local fish market before their show later that night at The Neptune.
Each of their albums has been unique and Heart of Nowhere seems to be a combination of all of them together and evidence of their evolution as a band. Every album has embodied a different theme and Heart of Nowhere is no different in that sense. “We write very much from the heart and instinct. I’m only 25; we started relatively young and did the first album when I was only eighteen. I guess what we’re getting at this time is a sense of alienation. Not really a great word for it, but how you feel when you’re in your early twenties and you’re not really sure what path you should be taking and nothing is quite so clear cut or obvious like it might have been for our parents’ generation.”
They have created a film to accompany the album as they have done in the past for their second album First Days of Spring. The films serve as beautiful visual accompaniments to their music. For Heart of Nowhere, the film depicts teenagers in a society sometime in the future where adolescents are taken and quarantined from the rest of the population as they endure their transition into adulthood. There were screenings of the film, however, currently only the trailer is available which can be viewed below. “I think we should have a physical copy, it’s just a matter of finding the time to do it, but I think we will definitely try and get it up online to download or something because it’s a nice little piece that adds to what the album is all about.”
The awkward transition into adulthood is filled with feelings of nostalgia and uncertainty. Uncertainty of what is next and how to move on. The difficulty of accepting the past as past and the realization that maybe there isn’t enough time for everyone and anything to happen like you thought there was. I ask if being in a band and touring intensifies that already weird concept of change. “It does exacerbate it, because when you do come back you have to try and pick things back up like old friendships.” One of their songs written by front man Charlie Fink called “Lifetime” illustrates the tale of that very problem. “Charlie wrote “Lifetime” about his friend who he’d been great friends with at school but lost touch with. He didn’t even realize this guy got engaged let alone that he was going to get married in a couple weeks time.”
For a band that tours frequently and is constantly making new music it makes sense. They have released four albums in the past six years and have experienced several lineup changes but have finally settled on a steady group, which has really had an effect on the album. They have been together since the eighteen-month tour of their last album and Heart of Nowhere captures the live effortless sound that can only come with playing together for so long. Not only did it have an effect on their sound but their writing process as well. Previously Charlie Fink had been the main songwriter. He would come to the band with chords, lyrics, and everything pretty much already formed, but this time the process was a lot more collaborative.
They started writing in an old converted synagogue in East London and also traveled to Osea Island off the coast of Essex, East England. “It’s an amazing place and it’s only got about six buildings on the whole island. Any access was by this causeway, which is obviously subject to the tides, so we felt pretty isolated, but we definitely got most of the work done there. We wrote about six of the songs there in just two weeks.”
From there Noah and the Whale headed to British Grove Studios in West London owned by Mark Knopfler of the Dire Straits. “Little bit of Dire Straits influence maybe, subliminal I’m sure,” Hobden laughs. “It was an amazing studio, beautiful live room with amazing acoustics, and loads of gear. It was fun because we were recording it live with all the guys in the room at once. We got a string quartet in as well so we had a room full of nearly ten people just rockin’ out.”
Heart of Nowhere was released in May and they will be making their stop in Philly at the TLA on Thursday, October 17th. You can expect them to play an array of songs from all of their albums and maybe even some covers. Their opening act LP had to unfortunately cancel due to a knee injury, however you can check Noah and the Whale’s Facebook page for updates on who will be opening in your area. After their North American tour Noah and the Whale are going on a UK tour supporting Vampire Weekend. After that the band plan to take a bit of a break until Christmas and then get back to writing again.
To close the interview I ask Hobden if he has any advice for people struggling through the lessons of growing up, to which he replies, “Never rush.” After a few moments he also adds, “No one really knows anything, another code I live by. You should never be intimidated by other people who think they know more because they usually don’t.” Great advice for a society that drives the youth to grow up fast and every generation is often made to feel inadequate in the shadows of their elders. Heart of Nowhere is riddled with pieces of advice and reflections and I strongly urge anyone going through the same transitions to give it a good therapeutic listen.
