The Local Natives have been generating a lot of noise, and I’m not just referring to the actual music on their debut, Gorilla Manor. Most of the buzz was generated by their showing at last year’s SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. I feel obligated to mention the onslaught of Arcade Fire and Fleet Foxes comparisons these guys have garnered. Fleet Foxes, I get, but the Arcade Fire references are a little more confusing. It might be the raw energy they unleash onstage (just ask YouTube), but aside from that, I don’t really understand the connection. So let’s take the Fleet Foxes, and add a little more soul – something along the lines of Yeasayer’s All Hour Cymbals, a band who also caught our collective attention at SXSW. Perhaps the logic behind the Arcade Fire comparisons is similar to my Yeasayer reasoning in the unmistakable flashes of chamber pop that permeate Gorilla Manor in sporadic and delightful moments. Or perhaps it’s Local Natives obvious ambition that keeps said reference popping up in all sorts of reviews. As good as this album can be, and as impressive as some of the moments therein certainly are, it’s a little difficult to see Gorilla Manor as a whole lot more than a string of moments. If anything, the album is a little overly ambitious.

But then again, perhaps the problem is that it’s just not ambitious enough. I was completely on board with this band, their sound, and the album itself until I got to “Cards and Quarters.” The first six tracks seem to slowly evolve from the elusive opener, “Wide Eyes,” into the more obviously afro-pop influenced “World News” and the Fleet Foxes-sounding “Shape Shifter” and “Camera Talk.” But then we have “Cards and Quarters” which completely deflates all of the momentum built up in the first half of the album. It’s not that I am anti-slow jam – I’m a big fan of “Who Knows Who Cares” from later in the album. “Cards and Quarters” isn’t out of step with the group's sound, but it’s certainly the weakest part of it. That track and the closer, “Sticky Thread,” could have been done away with altogether. They’re just too obvious, and the best parts of this album are the surprising ones, as in the scream break in “Sun Hands” and the frantic chorus of the Talking Heads cover, “Warning Sign.” Some reviewers have been accusing the Local Natives of drawing too heavily on influences without clearly defining themselves, but the Talking Heads cover alone proves to me the verity of this band’s sound.

I think citing a lack of originality is, well, unoriginal – but it’s also lazy. There is plenty of originality to go around over the course of these twelve tracks. The biggest problem lies in their arrangement. Had I been a heavier influence in the production (what’s up guys, I thought we were down?), I would have made “Who Knows Who Cares” the closer, eliminated the two aforementioned weak links and called for a more explosive climax in “Camera Talk.” A few of those scream breaks and some of that delectably hectic drumming really would have taken this track from being pretty good to outstanding and done a lot for the overall flow. As Gorilla Manor stands, it just sort of peters out. It’s hard to give “Cubism Dream” and “Stranger Things” due credit after the attention severing “Cards and Quarters.” “Airplanes” with all of its haunting desperation is utterly moving. That track and the following “Sun Hands,” the first single, are likely to be the only tracks you'll remember for any great span of time.

The cover art alone makes it clear that these guys are going to be hard to define. Heads exploding into brightly colored detritus actually represents their intentions pretty well. My only wish is that they followed through with the evolution of their sound from disquieting chamber pop into the more harmonious Talking Heads-inspired afro-pop. You just can’t start pushing the bar if you don’t have a destination in mind. Swing and a miss, but don’t count the Local Natives out just yet.

Track List:
1. Wide eyes 4:28
2. Airplanes 4:00
3. Sun hands 4:53
4. World News 4:32
5. Shape shifter 5:31
6. Camera talk 3:45
7. Cards and quarters 4:00
8. Warning sign 4:12
9. Who knows who cares 3:56
10. Cubism dream 4:01
11. Stranger things 5:47
12. Sticky thread 3:48