Noah and the Whale at Shepherd's Bush Empire

Noah and the Whale at Shepherd's Bush Empire

09 March, 2009
by: Gengen

First up at the Shepherd's Bush Empire tonight is Jay Jay Pistolet, and as the opening chords are struck and the images behind him whirr into life I feel transported back to a bygone era where women enter beauty pageants while sporting silly swimming caps. If it wasn't for the plastic pint glass in my hand I'd be quite ready to believe that I'm in 1940s America.

Jay Jay Pistolet's set is short, sweet and feels like the perfect accompaniment to the main event. He gallops through song after song, impressively filling the theatre with his velvety rich voice, and finishes with fan favourite 'Happy Birthday You'. It'll only be a matter of months before we're back watching a gig with this guy as the headlining act.

As the stage is cleared for the main event of the night, the projector overhead informs us it's interval time. Traditionally, I would run to the bar, but tonight I decide to stay put and watch the two films which are being shown in conjunction with this special tour. I've always been sceptical of film shorts having endured too many pitiful offerings at many an art house cinema and in all honesty the two which Noah and the Whale decide to put on do little to change my mind. I worry that perhaps I'm being too critical so it's a relief that later on when Charlie asks the crowd if they liked the films, his question is met with a resounding NO!

Whatever the majority of the crowd feel about the interval's entertainment it doesn't stop them going wild when Noah and the Whale finally take the stage and as they charge into the first number it becomes clear that the band are not about to play up to their twee persona. Tonight Noah and the Whale are set to rock as they show off a number of songs from their new album. Overall the heavier sound works well for them, favourite songs from their debut suddenly take on a new personality and many end in a gloriously melodic sound that crashes down on the audience. For the first 30 minutes or so I'm so enraptured, I barely notice the 40s imagery which had felt so integral to Jay Jay Pistolet's set.

This rapture however, does not hold. I can only assume that, between the first and second album, one or more members of the band have been unceremoniously dumped, which has resulted in the band reflecting on lost love and happier times. As the set continues, many audience members who've clearly come prepared for some sort of ceilidh, are instead forced to sing along to lyrics projected on the wall declaring, 'I'll be happier next year'. What starts out as a light-hearted evening suddenly turns much darker with even the background projections suddenly taking an eerie twist; children on bikes wearing ape masks, a man running away from a masked man in the snow who has stabbed him.

Perhaps Noah and the Whale's new image is just a phase or maybe they're taking a step away from the quaint folk rock image they'd previously acquired. Either way their second album is sure to see them move far away from the sound they developed in 'Peaceful the World Lays Me Down', where a deeper and darker element was only hinted at. Whatever the second album holds in store for us though, let's just hope it doesn't include any film shorts as a bonus feature.

Photo credit: Tael!

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Gengen