The First Days of Spring (album)
| The First Days of Spring | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Noah and the Whale | ||||
| Released |
31 August 2009 (U.K.), 6 October 2009 (U.S.) | |||
| Recorded | January 2009 | |||
| Genre | Indie folk | |||
| Length | 42:53 | |||
| Label |
Vertigo (U.K.), Cherrytree Records (U.S.) | |||
| Producer | Emery Dobyns | |||
| Noah and the Whale chronology | ||||
| ||||
The First Days of Spring is the second studio album by the English band Noah and the Whale. It was released on 31 August 2009.[1] The band began playing the new material at concerts in 2009 to a favourable response. The First Days of Spring notably differs from Noah and the Whale's debut album, Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down, by the presence of a running narrative describing the break-up of a relationship and by the lack of female vocals.[2] The break-up addressed on this album is the break-up between lead singer Charlie Fink and former member Laura Marling, whose departure from the band led to the absence of female vocals. The Deluxe Edition of the album includes the film which is also titled The First Days Of Spring. A trailer of the movie is available on their official website.[3] An online campaign for the release of the album onto vinyl was set up in 2014. [4]
Singles
"The First Days of Spring" is the first single release from the album and it is already available on the band's website. The first official single is "Blue Skies" which was released on 24 August 2009.[5]
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 71/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| The Guardian | [8] |
| MusicOMH | [9] |
| NME | (9/10)[10] |
| The Observer | [11] |
| Pitchfork Media | (5.2/10)[12] |
| Spin | [13] |
| Sputnik Music |  [14] |
| The Times | [15] |
The First Days of Spring has been met with very positive reviews, showing more critical acclaim than their previous release. NME called the album "immense" and gave it a strong 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 2009. The Times newspaper put the album at number 9, and was also in Amazon's top albums of 2009.
Track listing
All songs written by Charlie Fink.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The First Days of Spring" | 6:39 |
| 2. | "Our Window" | 5:48 |
| 3. | "I Have Nothing" | 2:43 |
| 4. | "My Broken Heart" | 5:11 |
| 5. | "Instrumental I" | 1:33 |
| 6. | "Love of an Orchestra" | 2:03 |
| 7. | "Instrumental II" | 1:36 |
| 8. | "Stranger" | 5:18 |
| 9. | "Blue Skies" | 4:08 |
| 10. | "Slow Glass" | 3:18 |
| 11. | "My Door Is Always Open" | 4:35 |
Total length: |
42:53 | |
Chart performance
| Chart (2009) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 16 |
| US Top Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[16] | 19 |
References
- ↑ "Noah and The Whale face The First Days of Spring". Radio Exile. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
- ↑ "Noah And The Whale - The First Days Of Spring (2009)". Music Is Amazing. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
- ↑ "Noah and the Whale". Natwofficialblog.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
- ↑ "NATW Vinyl Campaign". Facebook.
- ↑ "Noah and the Whale single news! « you don't spell it, son. you hear it!". Youdontspellit.com. 19 July 2009. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
- ↑ "The First Days Of Spring by Noah and the Whale". Metacritic. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
- ↑ Allmusic review
- ↑ The Guardian review
- ↑ MusicOMH review
- ↑ NME review
- ↑ The Observer review
- ↑ Pitchfork Media review
- ↑ Spin review
- ↑ Sputnik Music review
- ↑ The Times review
- ↑ "Noah and The Whale – Chart history" Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums for Noah and The Whale.