★★★★★
Local Natives return with their second album, Hummingbird, a record that finds the Los Angeles-based group expanding upon their anthemic brand of indie rock first heard on 2010's Gorilla Manor, but with more nuance and melancholia. Produced by the National's Aaron Dessner (who is also credited with co-writing some of the tracks), it's a bit of a departure from their tribal rhythm-propelled debut, here Dessner and the band relying more on restraint and atmosphere to guide each song to its...
- www.othermusic.com
2013-04-02
★★★★★
Local Natives' sophomore album bows out with closer "Bowery," a brooding indie-rock epic. But its true climax arrives a track earlier. "Colombia," written by co-frontman Kelcey Ayer after the death of his mother, is an unflinchingly honest and uncommonly beautiful piano ballad -- and the finest song of the LA quartet's young career...
- thephoenix.com
2013-04-02
★★★★★
Local NativesHummingbird (Frenchkiss) Effervescent pop from Local Natives' 2010 debut Gorilla Manor scored raves, so in avoiding the sophomore slump, these harmonic L.A. rockers grew through the pain - bassist Andy Hamm departed, angel-voiced keyboardist Kelcey Ayer's mom died - to evince pleasure. Produced in New York by Aaron Dessner (of the National), Hummingbird's layers complement its psychic search...
- www.austinchronicle.com
2013-03-13
★★★★★
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, goes the old adage. In the case of Local Natives, it's a mantra you hope might have legs. For the interim period between the rustic West Coast glimmer of debut Gorilla Manor and follow-up Hummingbird has been plagued with intra - and extra- band loss, from the 'heartbreaking' departure of bassist Andy Hamm, to the passing away of vocalist Kelcey Ayer's mother...
- drownedinsound.com
2013-03-04
★★★★★
Release Date: January 29th, 2013 We're only about two months into 2013 and I haven't listened to a lot of indie-rock or indie-pop records so far; the only ones I've really dove into were Twenty One Pilots major label debut Vessel, Tegan and Sara's new record Heartthrob, and English trio's The Joy Formidable's sophomore record Wolf's Law. All of these records are wonderful, and I'm glad I picked them up...
- absolutepunk.net
2013-02-26
★★★★★
For Hummingbird, Local Natives leave behind the Californian sun for grittier Brooklyn and it shows in the results. The follow-up to 2010's Gorilla Manor is less about the rousing uptempo songs, with a darker, denser feel to the songs. Producer Aaron Dessner may be partly responsible for adding a touch of The National to proceedings, but there's a sadder, more reflective taint to the choral harmonies this time around that's rooted in the band-members' recent experience...
- www.beat.com.au
2013-02-21
★★★★★
These Silver Lake upstarts garnered considerable--and deserved--praise for the sonorous harmonies, worldly rhythms and Cali melodies of their 2009 debut Gorilla Manor. The animalian titling fixation continues with Hummingbird: a looser, groovier, and vibier set of tunes co-produced by the band and The National's Aaron Dessner. Like the first album, this 11-song collection slowly, but surely, works to win you over...
- filtermagazine.com
2013-02-21
★★★★★
L.A.'s Local Natives take you to the beach and cry in your umbrella drink. Their blindingly bright washes of CSNY harmonies and wide-spiral psychedelia can recall Grizzly Bear or Fleet Foxes. But there's an undercurrent of stormy emotionalism that really comes out on the band's second album. Kelcey Ayer vents pillowy angst in vivid detail as minimalist synth surges and push-pull drum rumble rough up his dove-winged melodies...
- www.rollingstone.com
2013-02-13
★★★★★
Reviews
Use the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard to move between posts quickly and easily. If you're looking for a good place to start, check out our roundup of the best songs of 2012. words by JEAN-LUC MARSH
"Heavy Feet""Breakers"
Hummingbird picks up where Local Natives' previous effort, the acclaimed Gorilla Manor, left off. It follows a formula that worked before, and continues to work, retaining the group's sublime, lofty harmonies...
- prettymuchamazing.com
2013-02-11
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