For Hummingbird, Local Natives leave behind the Californian sun for grittier Brooklyn and it shows in the results. The follow-up to 2010’s Gorilla Manor is less about the rousing uptempo songs, with a darker, denser feel to the songs. Producer Aaron Dessner may be partly responsible for adding a touch of The National to proceedings, but there’s a sadder, more reflective taint to the choral harmonies this time around that’s rooted in the band-members’ recent experience. (They recently parted ways with bassist Andy Hamm and vocalist Kelcey Ayer had a death in the family last year.)
Faster songs and single material like Heavy Feet, Breakers and Black Balloons get by on enough handclaps, building crescendos and singalong moments, even if they aren’t quite as immediate as past ear-worms like Airplanes and Sun Hands. But it’s the slower, softer tracks that really add depth and range to this album. Pleading mantras like Mt. Washington’s “I don’t have to see you right now” or Colombia’s “Am I loving enough?” are the sort of lyrical hooks that drag you into these more introspective numbers.
Once you adjust to the less joyous mood of Hummingbird, it reveals itself as a work easily as engaging as Gorilla Manor. The band take care not to just repeat the sound and experience of their debut, and instead takes us in deeper and connect on a personal level. What more could you want from a second album?
BY CHRIS GIRDLER
Best Track: Breakers
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Bon Iver BON IVER, Boxer THE NATIONAL
In A Word: Hummable
