Album Review: Local Natives - Violet Street

The recipe for Local Natives’ latest album, Violet Street, is not one for success.

You’d be forgiven for thinking you were listening to one very long track as you spin through Vogue and When Am I Gonna Lose You. There’s very little to show these are two separate tracks until at least halfway through the latter, when vocalist Taylor Rice attempts some high-pitched Matt Bellamy meets Adam Levine on helium runs.

There are a couple of saving graces in this release, however. Touching on some kind of Fleetwood Mac meets The Carpenters nuances in Munich II, Local Natives teeter on presenting something different, which isn’t entirely awful – a shame it’s only 46 seconds long. Likewise, Someday Now produces something resembling creativity and even, dare it be said, gets a little exotic, we just needed more of it.  

Ultimately, Violet Street isn’t quite the dreamy indie experience the label on the tin implies – instead of being a rich Tim Tam of flavour and experience (as we know Local Natives are capable of), all the band seem to come up with are soggy biscuits.