Noah And The Whale: Little Noise Sessions – review

Noah And The Whale perform for Mencap's Little Noise Sessions

You couldn’t pick a more atmospheric or heart-warming venue for Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions than St John-at-Hackney Church.

Fairylights twinkle along the balconies with a festive glow and there is a little bit of that ‘goodwill to all men’ cheer in the air as upbeat folksters Noah And The Whale take to the stage for the second-to-last gig of the charity series.

Curly-haired lead singer Charlie Fink speaks to us with a voice that is mumbled, posh and polite, at one point almost tripping over in a shambolic-yet-dashing Hugh Grant style.

Tonight provides confirmation of what we mainly already knew: that Noah And The Whale certainly aren’t an angst ridden, violently impassioned bunch of young musicians. Their biggest hit, ‘Five Years Time’ – noticeably absent tonight – contains the line “in five years’ time, we could be walking around a zoo, with the sun shining down over me and you“. On their début album, it doesn’t get a great deal darker.

However, Fink’s subsequent break-up with Mercury prize nominated artist and former band member Laura Marling has provided more engaging material in recent years, including tonight’s opening track. The wide-eyed and rousing Springsteen-esque ‘Tonight’s The Kind Of Night’ from the group’s last album, 2011’s ‘Last Night On Earth’, marks a promising start to the gig.

The tracks from this latest LP – including overly infectious single ‘L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.’ and the pretty twang of ‘Waiting For My Chance To Come’ – appear to work the best in this intimate live setting. There is a punch and urgency to these songs that the earlier material lacks and the crowd reacts proportionately. A female super fan jumps up and down manically and the male half of a couple fist-punches the air emphatically, grinning from ear to ear.

Later, the staccato strings and pulsing nu-wave drums of the last album take a detour with the beautifully languorous ‘The First Days of Spring’ from the Whale’s eponymous second cut. “I’m still here hoping that one day you may come back,” Fink sings wanly as violins gradually build to a heart-searing crescendo in one of the highlights of the set.

The hymnal ‘Old Joy’ also provides a serene choral moment until ‘Life Is Life’ – another stirring slice of Springsteen-influenced storytelling – gets the crowd moving once again.

At the end of the night, the band exits politely, without an encore – a suitable finish to a night that’s more often than not been full of quiet grace.