LOCAL NATIVES | GORILLA MANOR

FRENCHKISS

Gorilla Manor, the anticipated debut from Local Natives, is a strong release that should live up to most people’s expectations. This Silverlake, Los Angeles five-piece who were discovered at last year’s SXSW, play well-crafted songs that use strings, piano, swelling percussion, and big vocals from Taylor Rice. Local Natives, like several other new bands, have been compared to Fleet Foxes, and I won’t entirely disagree with that. The wide-eyed harmonies on tracks “Cards and Quarters” and “Cubism Dream” definitely have a Fleet Fox-y sound. But the expressive use of percussions on “Airplanes” and “Wide Eyes” are what really stand out on this promising debut. – Written by DBosket