I’ve been going to a lot less gigs this year than the massive amounts I’d been to in the last couple of years. It went from two a week on average to once a fortnight, easily. I don’t know whether it’s the recession or other things like work etc but I’ve definitely been going to less, ironically though I now live closer to the action than ever before. So it was nice to be out for a gig on a Tuesday night once again, where expectation was palpable in the dark of the downstairs basement of the Academy.
The last nine months or so have clearly been a whirlwind for LA’s Local Natives. From creating a buzz at SXSW to signing with Infectious Records a few weeks ago after some heavy label interest, they find themselves with less than 24 hours in Dublin to sample the Guinness before flying to York to join the NME Radar tour and playing to a crowd who are willing to give them their ears for an hour.
It’s not a hard decision to make after all. Local Natives’ songs are imbued with lots and lots of harmonies, sun-kissed instrumentation, extra percussion and a controlled kick that makes each of the five members on-stage energy a gratifying thing to experience. For their ten-song set, it was the most well-known numbers that were received greatly – ‘Airplane’ (see video), opener ‘World News’ and closing song ‘Sun Hands’ which was bolstered by a riff-heavy balls to the wall ending but the others had plenty to write home about too. Comparisons could be drawn to Fleet Foxes but this band just seem more full of life and varied than the bearded wonders Pecknold, Tillman and co.
The album comes out on October 30th here. You’ll be seeing these guys again.
