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Monday night saw the Surrey based band “Noah and the Whale” perform at the intimate styled Cafe Rouge themed Roundhouse. The venue has had a host of lesser known acts play recently in the round, where the audience sit by tables on the main floor and watch the various folk and jazz acts. All you need is a Lucky Strike and croissant and you could be Le Deux Magots or at least that is the general idea.
Although NATW have only been around for a couple of years the band have built up a solid following which is partially based on their association with Laura Marling and Emme the Great both of which perform with them on an occasional basis, with Laura Marling appearing in their hit single video “5 years time”. Musically they are an eclectic bunch with influences ranging from Tom Waits, Lightspeed Champion to Belle and Sebastian and Lloyd Cole & the Commotions. Their recent top 10 single has catapulted them into the public’s consciousness however listening to their set fans of the single may be disappointed by the rest of their album which is far less poppy and much more mellow.
Either way I love the idea of naming a band after the director of the art house movie “The Squid & the Whale” which focused on divorce and teenage dramas in New York in the early 1980’s. The Squid & the Whale is a great Sunday afternoon movie and their album “Peaceful the World Lays Me Down” may just be the perfect accompaniment.
Written by John Rahim