Noah and the Whale finds light in the night

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There’s a telling lyric in the chorus of the second single (“Tonight’s The Kind of Night”) from Brit-rock outfit Noah and the Whale’s latest record, Last Night on Earth: “Tonight’s the kind of night/ that anything could change.” It’s easy to underestimate the weight of the line (particularly when it’s buried under the absurd catchiness of it’s hook), but it’s probably the best mission statement for the album as a whole. Last Night on Earth is an intentional shift in subject and sound for a band that’s been quietly gathering acclaim stateside (and not as quietly doing so in their native land). As they head into Atlanta, Tom Hobden talks about the new record, his band’s love for film and exactly what’s so creatively romantic about the night time.

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Talk a little bit about “Last Night On Earth” — you’ve had a couple months to sort of digest the record now. What’s the reception been like?
Tom Hobden: The reception has been genuinely thrilling. We’ve been on US, European and UK tours and the shows have been incredible.

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Why was this record a logical step in your discography?
TH: Last Night On Earth came about as a response to many things. We had previously been touring The First Days of Spring and wanted to make a record that was more outward-looking. It felt very natural to be crafting a record that was also out of our comfort zone because we were going through a transitory stage. We picked up synthesizers and drum machines and, coupled with musical influences such as Petty, Springsteen and Prince, set about making something musically and lyrically different to anything we had done before.

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Did your recording process differ this time around to reflect the shift in sound at all?
TH: The recording process was longer this time, but only because the challenge was to make the group of songs we had as concise as possible in both structure and arrangement. Many tracks, such as “Wild Thing,” began as 10-minute epics. But we wanted to make a sharp, punchy pop album. We followed the Tom Petty saying — “Don’t bore us, get to the chorus!”

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There’s this juxtaposition to me in the records title (which almost seems cryptic when you first read it) and the message in the songs, which is very positive. Do you agree, and why is that?