Review Summary: Hummingbird is excellent, but latently so.
Let's talk about the concept of 'depth' for a second here. 'Having depth' is something used to describe a plethora of records, but what actually constitutes depth? Is it a nuanced record, drunk with sonic touches and tid-bits the listener has to actively search for? Has it something to do with how rewarding a record is? Or how it unravels with each listen? Does a record with depth provide something to think about, long after the last note rings out? Does a theme permeate the records fringes, or does it provide a forum for the listener to resonate their own feelings within the work? Is that what depth is? With the suggestion of all these things, Hummingbird is a good album to measure up to the variables of what could constitute a decent amount of depth. Thankfully, Hummingbird proves to excel in most of these areas, and the crux of this is that 'has depth' seems to be the most apt descriptor for Local Natives' second record.
To talk about Local Natives is to talk about their influences, but I won’t here; That’s been explored in detail enough elsewhere in reference to this band. Let me say this though: Local Natives are a talented band. Their chameleon-like nature and the fact the band has two very accomplished vocalists speaks volumes for how well strung together Hummingbird‘s songs are. If Gorilla Manor proved how well Local Natives could create and execute melodies, Hummingbird proves Local Natives know how to create an excellent composition around such melodies. Here there is expanse; here there is an identity in construction. Here Local Natives translates that undisputed talent into something more lasting and connecting.
‘You & I’ is a gorgeous composition, from the spaghetti western-twang of the album’s opening chords to it’s pleadingly melancholic chorus: ‘When did our love, when did our love grow cold?’ both vocalists sing. Making up the opening triptych, ‘Heavy Water’ has a grandeur that would make even Arcade Fire blush, while Ceilings’ rollicking verses are beautifully resonant through their opposition to the song’s falsetto led chorus’. The album suffers a little through the middle, with ‘Breakers’ and ‘Black Balloons’ not having the sonority of the album’s deeper cuts. However this is quickly forgotten by resounding penultimate track, ‘Columbia’, in which both vocalists pleads ‘am I giving enough?’ over and over until the songs restrained conclusion. It’s a sign of maturity from a band who seemed all about not caring and embodying youth culture a few years back.
The only discernible fault with Hummingbird would be an inability to capitalize on that very energy they build through their songs. Most songs, Columbia in particular, just beg for a Spanish Sahara-like release. Restraint is good when exercised with, well, restraint. The band comes very close to creating a classic, but the album seems like it needs a little more thematic ideas – the lyrics are too hit or miss at times. However, in the scope of their career and in comparison to other indie bands of the same ilk, Local Natives are very, very close to getting that right mix. If we are to talk of growth, Local Natives have adjusted to accommodate and further accentuate their melodies with the aforementioned depth proving maturity can evolve within a songwriting capacity. It’s only a matter of time now before the band adds that other element and gets the mix exactly right.
