noah and the whale

I was re-introduced to Noah and the Whale today, and it was fantastic.
I went to Macy's on my break and ordered a chicken salad panini with white cheddar cheese and ate it on Nicollet Mall while listening to "Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down"
First of all, the sandwich was delicious. Second, I really like this album. I saw them at the entry a few months ago and they sounded just as goof (if not better) in person. The only negative thing I have to say about this album is that it’s not loud enough to drown out the annoying people walking around on the mall.
Give a Little Love has a consistently epic drum sound, almost like the drummer was sitting at the top of the mountain, with one huge drum and a mallet just giving everyone down below a beat to live by. This is accompanied by an equally epic horn section that really makes its true appearance near the end of the song. The combination of the two puts me in a state of euphoria, a special place where I don’t realize I'm air-conducting (which is exactly like real conducting, but without the conductees) in the middle of downtown Minneapolis.
Rocks and daggers starts off like a pretty run-of-the-mill happy, up beat song, but the violin and understated drums brings a sense of depth that is easy to overlook. There are also some female vocals on this song, and whoever she is, she blows me away. She has such an innocent, delicate yet experienced voice and it is the perfect compliment to the singer's more raw, simple (but not in a bad way) deep, yet boyish, voice. The last minute slows down, the violin is shaking with anticipation in the background, the singer is by himself, then the girl joins, then the drums come in and the whole time the violin is getting more powerful and it ends with the girl, the violin, the drums and horns singing the part over and over. It is lovely. Whenever I listen to it, it feels like everyday is that perfect sunny, crisp, fall day and I can't help but smile.
It was probably the best 30 minute break of the week.