Photo by Bryan Sheffield

In their interview with us last month, Local Natives said that their second LP, Hummingbird, "feels like our band, but we're not doing the same thing again"-- in other words, the type of intriguing, vague inclination you'd expect from a band sitting on music only they've heard. The album's first single, "Breakers," suggests that the statement was more of a sincere promise. You can hear the influence of tourmates Arcade Fire and the National in the drums and the production, which shift Local Natives away from the more wooly sounds of Gorilla Manor to something more streamlined and arena-filling.

Where those bands often sound like they're pushing back at the weight of society's ills and aging, Local Natives still retain their youthful vigor and identifiable quirks with swaying, full-bodied harmonies and a dynamic booster shot of a chorus. In that same interview, they likened Hummingbird's co-producer, the National's Aaron Dessner to an "older brother," and "Breakers" does a fantastic job of establishing what could be an exciting sibling rivalry.

[from Hummingbird; out 01/28/13 in Europe 01/29/13 in the U.S. via Frenchkiss/Infectious]