The First Days of Spring (album)

The First Days of Spring is the second studio album by the English band Noah and the Whale. It was released in the UK on 31 August 2009 and in the US on 6 October.[1] The band began playing the new material at concerts in 2009 to a favourable response. The First Days of Spring notably differs from Noah and the Whale's debut album, Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down, by the presence of a running narrative describing the break-up of a relationship and by the lack of female vocals.[2] The break-up addressed on this album is the break-up between lead singer Charlie Fink and former member Laura Marling, whose departure from the band led to the absence of female vocals. The Deluxe Edition of the album includes the film which is also titled The First Days of Spring. A trailer of the movie is available on their official website.[3] An online campaign for the release of the album onto vinyl was set up in 2014.[4]

The First Days of Spring
Studio album by
Noah and the Whale
Released31 August 2009
RecordedJanuary 2009
GenreIndie folk
Length42:53
Label
ProducerEmery Dobyns, Charlie Fink
Noah and the Whale chronology
Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down
(2008)		 The First Days of Spring
(2009)		 Last Night on Earth
(2011)

Singles

"The First Days of Spring" is the first single release from the album and it is already available on the band's website. The first official single is "Blue Skies" which was released on 24 August 2009.[5]

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic71/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
The Guardian[8]
MusicOMH[9]
NME9/10[10]
The Observer[11]
Pitchfork5.2/10[12]
Spin[13]
Sputnikmusic[14]
The Times[15]

The First Days of Spring has been met with very positive reviews, showing more critical acclaim than their previous release. NME called the album "immense" and gave it a strong 9/10, whilst The Times awarded the album a full five stars.

Towards the end of 2009 The Guardian newspaper put it at number 7 in their top albums of 2009. The Times newspaper put the album at number 9, and was also in Amazon's top albums of 2009.

Track listing

All songs written by Charlie Fink.

The First Days of Spring track listing
No.TitleLength
1."The First Days of Spring"6:39
2."Our Window"5:48
3."I Have Nothing"2:43
4."My Broken Heart"5:11
5."Instrumental I"1:33
6."Love of an Orchestra"2:03
7."Instrumental II"1:36
8."Stranger"5:18
9."Blue Skies"4:08
10."Slow Glass"3:18
11."My Door Is Always Open"4:35
Total length:42:53

Charts
Chart performance for The First Days of Spring
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[16] 22
UK Albums (OCC)[17] 16
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[18] 19

References
  1. "Noah and The Whale face The First Days of Spring". Radio Exile. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  2. "Noah And The Whale - The First Days Of Spring (2009)". Music Is Amazing. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  3. "Noah and the Whale". Natwofficialblog.blogspot.com. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  4. "NATW Vinyl Campaign". Facebook.
  5. "Noah and the Whale single news! « you don't spell it, son. you hear it!". Youdontspellit.com. 19 July 2009. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  6. "The First Days of Spring by Noah and the Whale". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  7. Allmusic review
  8. "Noah and the Whale: The First Days of Spring | CD review". The Guardian. 27 August 2009. Archived from the original on 2 February 2020.
  9. MusicOMH review
  10. NME review
  11. "CD: Pop review: Noah & the Whale, The First Days of Spring". The Guardian. 11 July 2009. Archived from the original on 29 May 2017.
  12. Pitchfork Media review
  13. Spin review
  14. Sputnik Music review
  15. The Times review
  16. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  17. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  18. "Noah and The Whale Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard.
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