Noah Stays off the Boy Band Ark

Noah and the Whale isn’t just another northern brit-pop boy-band set to make it big with one global hit and then disappear forever. Within months of being signed, their hit single “5 Years Time” has been playfully imprinted on the American mind, appearing in several U.S. commercials on national television. Despite this sudden increase in mainstream exposure, the band remains unfazed. To them, they are still doing what they’ve always done—though, admittedly, on a much larger scale.

“It’s weird that we’ll be talking about this album for the next six months ... even though we’re nearly done with it [their next album],” said Charlie Fink, lead singer of Noah, when asked about their first album. “We’re incredibly happy about it ...It truly encapsulates who the band is and what we’ve been for the past year or so.” Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down was released in August and is an eclectic indie-folk mélange of humor and sheer musicality.

To say that this album represents Noah is saying quite a lot, but it’s not untrue. From the ukulele to the frequent clapping and whistling, many of Peaceful’s tracks reflect the folk music influence on which the band grew up. Meanwhile, other tracks such as “Jocasta,” a song that anchors Noah’s roots in punk and rock, have entirely different sounds. This multiplicity fits well into the band’s first stops on their North American headlining tour: three starkly unique venues deeply rooted in New York City.

Their first stop is at Union Pool in Brooklyn on Tuesday, Sept. 16. Union Pool, one of Williamsburg’s most established venues, boasts a mostly indie-rock and occasionally country lineup. Loved by hipsters across the city, Union Pool represents the heavier, rock side of Noah and the Whale. Speaking of playing at Union Pool, Fink said that the venue “is a really great reference for who we are.”

The next stop is the Sidewalk Café in Greenwich Village on Thursday. Thursday’s concert, at what is regarded as one of the top anti-folk centers in the U.S., is “something slightly more fragile ... in the good way,” Fink said. “It’ll be pretty stripped down and ... more intimate.” The band is especially excited for this stop because, as Fink explained, “bands that we really respect have come from that scene... the anti-folk scene—it’s really exciting to see where that all comes from. Them and their music.”

The last stop in New York on Friday is their biggest venue by far—Mercury Lounge. This show is expected to be a good deal louder, faster, and more energized. From one of the favorite venues of Interpol, The Killers, and The Strokes—Noah and the Whale promises the kind of show the other nights just can’t offer.

For a band that offers so much diversity on just one album, it is only fitting they bring that diversity to New York by playing three different shows in three different styles. “We’re really excited for playing,” Fink said. “I guess people are just starting to hear about us over there [America] and it’s just thrilling to play for people who have never seen or heard us. It’s like we still have something to prove.” And the energy that comes from that, Fink said, is what will make these three shows unforgettable.