Album Review: Local Natives - Hummingbird

With the 2009 release of their debut album Gorilla Manor, Silverlake's Local Natives set themselves up for one hell of a second album. Their careful formula of West Coast melodies and sensitive indie pop saw them safely poised for a world-conquering next step. However, Hummingbird is no megalomaniac in the slightest – it's a step back completely from the smart, polished path of arena-rock and instead leans on the introspective and delicate harmonies the three-part vocal team can achieve better than most.

The band produced Hummingbird with The National's Aaron Dessner and initially it strikes as quite the musician's listen, not immediately engaging but certainly with enough vocal clout from Kelcey Ayer and his resilient lead to command revisit after revisit. The subtle hooks eventually unravel, the repetition in the chiming guitar lines become addictive and, again, those voices become utterly astounding when executed in unison.

Ayer extends this vocal muscle almost immediately on album opener You & I, often opting for his upper register throughout, often lonely and pleading but always powerful. Colombia is beautiful, built initially on moody piano while Ayer sings to his deceased mother before it crescendos into arguably Local Natives' finest track to date. Singles Breakers and Heavy Feet are both something else entirely, laced with sometimes overly-frantic drums but marked by incredible restraint and still the most instant tunes here.

There's nothing quite as melodic as Airplanes, as boisterous as Sun Hands or as radio-ready as Camera Talk here, but that isn't a bad thing. It's a remarkable record in its subtlety and one that reveals itself steadily to become utterly beautiful the more spins you give it.