The Top 5 UK Albums of 2008 - #3

By: Nicole Kai Kobilansky

Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down by Noah and the Whale

They are a little too twee in a “look at us, we’re cute literate folky forest critters with bushy tails” kind of way, I’ll admit, but MAN can they rock a mean mandolin and accordion chune. This is another debut album in my Top 5, and I really feel like this band is only going to develop and grow. (I also feel like they’re going to grow beards soon, incidentally; the boys, at least.) Their Fleet Fox-core small folk orchestra sound and naïve intelligentsia lyrics are often imperfect in the most endearing way, and when performing they seem like they’ve been sprinkled with fairy dust. This record is catchy, but never tiring, despite “5 Years’ Time” making it onto mainstream radio rotation along with the likes of Leona Lewis.

Video: "Shape of My Heart" by Noah and the Whale