The Native – Looking Back

It has been quite a year for Plymouth-based indie buzz-band The Native. From touring with Bastille (best known for their inescapable 2013 anthem Pompeii) and signing with their newfound label This Feeling Records, to hitting the festival circuit (Isle of Wight already under their belt, with slots at Reading and Leeds to come), and now releasing their new EP, Looking Back. The record is paired with the talents of industry veterans John Cornfield (known for his work with Razorlight, Supergrass and Muse) and Adrian Bushby (Grammy-winner and collaborator with Foo Fighters, U2, New Order), who provide the mix. 

With this calibre of support and experience so early in the band’s career, it’s no wonder Looking Back feels as polished and refined as it does. The album begins with Blindside, an earnest pop-rock venture that opens with the slash of guitar strings and thumping drums, driven (like much of the album) by Charlie Noordewier’s vocals. Looking Back, the title track and the album’s best, starts with shimmery synth, before building up to a clash of drums and sharp, rolling guitar lines. 

Despite all its polish, production and talent from the band’s core members, Looking Back at times lacks the raw appeal of their contemporaries. It’s an EP with a lot of promise, and spells a bright future for the Plymouth group, but its edges could be sharper, and the arrangements less mechanical. The record is at its best when the artists push to break free from the usual formula and let loose; and while at times they try to do just that – in the infectious 80s-tinged, bass driven bridge of opener Blindside, with the closing, chiming guitar lines of All or Nothing, and in the layered and emotionally weighted crescendo of 20 Something – the overall package can’t help but feel too neatly wrapped. 

Ronan Fawsitt
Photo: The Native/Joshua Halling

Looking Back is released on 19^th August 2022. For further information or to order the album visit The Native’s website here.

Watch the video for the single The Native here: