Local Natives
“Colombia”
Hummingbird (out tomorrow on Frenchkiss)
Earlier this year, someone I love very much tragically lost their mother, many years before her time. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to say to that person, which was complicated by the fact that I didn’t know what to say to myself. Do these tragedies happen for some clandestine reason? Or do they happen because the world is a fundamentally amoral place filled with beings with fundamentally fragile bodies?
During the production of their second LP, Local Natives’ vocalist Kelcey Ayer lost his own mother. As many great writers do, the Angelino finds words — beautiful, poignant words — for the kind of loss that renders the rest of us speechless. When he admits to asking himself every night whether he’s “loving enough” and “giving enough,” it is simultaneously heartbreaking and redeeming. It reminds us that, no matter what, the people we love are always with us to guide us and remind us what is really important. It’s a truly beautiful sentiment and the centerpiece of what will undoubtedly be one of the most important albums of 2013.
