It’s hard to isolate “Blue Skies” from its album, “The First Days of Spring”, but seeing as it makes such a beautiful single, it’s worth a shot.
Noah and the Whale (namely Charlie Fink) have evolved massively as songwriters since last year. This is something “Blue Skies” optimises perfectly. The track builds up an air of expectant hope, not only in the lyrics (‘Blue Skies are coming/But I know that it’s hard’) but also in the opening bars of music that peak into a soaring chorus and then ebb back into place.
The track takes on a more refined range of instruments than singles past, namely a beautiful piano melody and a choir, which are consistent through the record. Despite this, “Blue Skies” is a track that stands head and shoulders above all. It almost makes the listener glad that Fink could fall to such staggering lows in his personal life, as it has benefited NATW’s music tenfold.
Words: Mary Machin