Why I Love The Naked and Famous

There are so many bands that I find interesting for a variety of reasons. Maybe it’s how they sound, maybe it’s how they market themselves, maybe it’s just their personalities. For me, I feel like a band that I’ve always loved and found just fascinating is The Naked and Famous. The electronic indie rock back from Aukland in New Zealand first caught my attention with their 2010 debut album Passive Me, Aggressive You. Ever since they have always been on my radar as a band to look out for. Their music is always so powerful, emotional and well composed that I always end up putting their albums on my year-end best-of lists. “So, they’ve released a new album this year?” you’re asking me. Yes, indeed they have. They released the album Recover in July and I have been loving it so much. However, instead of just talking about the new album, I thought it would be fun to take a journey through all of their studio album releases. That way you get a good look at their music and everything this band has to offer and I can examine my love for this band and think about what makes them work musically.

Let’s go back to 2008. The music landscape was pretty different, club anthems ruled the airwaves, American alternative rock was about to take over and cerebral electro-indie rock was still relatively underground. It’s here where The Naked and Famous enter the scene with a couple of EP’s This Machine and No Light. The two core members of the band are keyboardist, Alisa Xayalith and guitarist Thom Powers with both of them assuming vocal responsibility. Although Alisa takes on the majority of the vocal work Thom has his fair share of well-executed vocals in the band, usually singing the bridge or providing harmonies. Though they have had other band members over the years, this is the core and where the heart and soul is.

Looking back on those early EP’s now and you could tell there was something special here. Heavy electronica but more of a rock edge to it all. Hearing heavy guitar and bass gave them such an indie-rock vibe. However, the core of their music is there. Alisa and Thom’s harmonies, the heavy electronics, their uncanny ability to find hooks in the weirdest of places. This isn’t full-on weird mode music, it's not a deconstruction of music, more a deconstruction of popular musical ideas and formulas and the band twisting them into their warped music. It’s quite cool to listen to and you realise that they’ve always been out there doing their own thing since the beginning. They don’t need to bow to the popular taste, instead, they make well crafted and fun-sounding ideas into full-fledged songs. In these early EP’s you can hear the band they will one day become. If I had to pick between the two EP’s my personal favourite would have to be This Machine. It was a fantastic piece of work that caught my attention right away. Showing their rock edginess whilst also putting something out there that was interesting and felt fresh. Although rough around the edges they managed to stick the landing with these early EP’s. After which they would refine the ideas down for something special.

It’s 2010, and the band come to release their juggernaut of a debut album. For most this was their introduction to The Naked and Famous. Armed with the chart-climbing anthems “Young Blood” and “Punching in a Dream”. Especially “Young Blood”. That song was inescapable on the radio throughout 2011. The album Passive Me, Aggressive You launched them into the mainstream here in the UK and it seemed to prove popular internationally as well. So, why was this album so effective? Well, first off the production. The sound of the band was cemented and well defined and the production shone a light on their strengths. The bulk of the album is heavy in electronica but is propped up by the two singles also the catchy tune of “All of This” and the heart-bleeding ballad “Girls Like You”, sung by Thom. When the album needs to be ambient and subdued they pull back and let the synths and vocals free. Yet, when they wanted to bring that rock edge, the band tightens up and you get this crip and hard-hitting sound. Personally, “All of This” is one of my favourite songs on the album, as is “No Way” and also “Eyes”. You’ll note that all three of those songs sound almost nothing alike. All three of the songs sound like they’re coming from completely separate artists. This, in my opinion, is the signifier of a great first album. The fun of experimentation and trying out different styles of songs to see what will stick. The Naked and Famous don’t follow conventional formulas or popular trend. They mess around with the ideas they feel like work and make great music and that’s why this first album was so important. They sounded so different from everything that was on the radio at the time. As Mark Beaumont from NME wrote at the time, call the album “a glorious melting pot of pop perfection”. Which is about right.

The genre-hopping on this album is interesting to listen to but what’s more fascinating is how they make each song flow into the next despite the change in musical styles. This not only speaks to good songwriting but well-thought-out planning and great sound design. The mix of electronica, indie-pop, folk and hard rock is a challenge to pull together to make a cohesive and coherent whole, still, they manage to do it almost seamlessly. It’s no wonder they were turning heads at the time and how they’ve managed to garner such a loyal fanbase. A fanbase conditioned to expect the unexpected from an artist enjoys having fun with their music. Like I’ve said, this was my introduction to the band as well and I knew that this was going to be a band that was going to stick with me for a long time. Turns out, I was right!

I remember getting In Rolling Waves for the first time. For me, this is up there in my top ten favourite albums of all time. It’s an album that’s stuck with me since it’s release. That being said, I don’t remember this one being in the cultural zeitgeist as much as their debut. Even though it had some pretty anthemic tunes on there that would have worked as radio hits and the production is beautiful. This album hits such an emotional nerve for me. I love it and I will fight anyone that disagrees. You may be asking, why? Well, In Rolling Waves, is such an emotionally charged record. There is such a collection of rich and wonderfully crafted songs which inspire emotions and ideas. The album feels much more like a synth-pop album with indie rock elements rather than the experimental romp of the first record. The music just oozes with feelings here. The big single from this record is an absolute anthem called “Hearts Like Ours”. The song is a passionate scream against mundanity and the will to keep moving forward in dark times. This was a great foot forward for this album and a solid lead in single. My personal favourite songs from the album are the album opener “A Stillness” and the infectious jam of “We Kill Giants”. The former is a slowly building and atmospheric song and when it hits the drop, there is such a feeling of elation to be had. The latter is a glorious anthem about pain and grief, the juxtaposition of the sad and passionate lyrics and the catchy anthemic musical style creates a captivating listening experience.

It was a special album but that inspired many emotions and ideas. The production is polished and the songs are well constructed it’s a real wonder I didn’t hear more about them. I mean they were still gaining popularity but it didn’t feel like this album was as special to the masses as the first album. However, there a clear direction that they were going in now and, at the time, I was excited to see where they were going to go next.

Simple Forms was released in 2016. Once again, I remember counting down to the release of their new album and hearing the singles being released in the lead-up. This album is a much brighter and yet somewhat reserved record than their previous efforts. I like the singles on the album. Leading to the release their third album, they release three singles; “Higher”, “Laid Low” and “The Runners”. Some amazing songs and I don’t think they truly represent the highlights of the album. They’re great tunes but they don’t quite hit the mark. My personal favourite from the album would be “Last Forever” and “The Water Beneath You”. The album has quite a punchy production to it. Everything feels quite in your face and I kind of like that about it. Alissa’s vocals are a shining beacon in their music. When they need a subtle calming presence she can provide an emotive whisper, but then when it’s time to turn things up to eleven, boy can she belt out those lyrics with everything she’s got. Which is what you get on songs like “Higher” and “Last Forever”. There is just something so honest and genuine about this album. There’s just that right combination of elements that make this album feel uncluttered and more straightforward. The subtle nuances dotted throughout the album are quite special for me and given the album replayability. The little keyboard riffs and guitar licks in the production are a fun little treat when listening to the album with good headphones or a good sound system.

There is such dynamic energy on the record. The harmonies between Thom and Alissa carry the songs in such a beautiful way. There feels to be a more sophisticated atmosphere with Simple Forms. A more focussed and concentrated record that was free of the experimentative feel of their past. However, I feel like that could have been to their detriment slightly. What was so enjoyable about their previous records was that sense of freedom and fun in the production. This is not to say that this is a bad album because I don’t believe that it is at all. It’s just that it feels quite middle of the road and like they were playing it safe. Ultimately, this record a fine piece of work. There’s a lot of great pump-up anthems and passionate ballads to keep you going. I remember at the time, loving this album and listening to it over and over. However, on retrospect, it does feel like a more safely played and concentrated record.

This leads to the reason I started this article, to begin with. Their new album Recover. Which I think is one of their best albums. It’s an album filled with fun dance jams, introspective ballads and powerful anthemic moments. It’s all of the things that make The Naked and Famous great with all of that electro goodness. The way that Alissa and Thom bounce off one another adds a beautiful quality to their songs. The opening, and title, track “Recover” has an infectious chorus about moving on and using life experience to get stronger. Right from here, the electro-weirdness is well implemented with glitching and with layer effects building on top of another, this gives the chorus that extra feeling of impact. Moving swiftly into the single “Sunseeker”. This song has a great groove to it, mixing the minimalistic beat with layered electronics and harmonised vocals. The result is this well crafted little jam with The Naked and Famous playing around with different inspirations. Already in the first two songs you ha calm and reserved intro that bleeds into a great dance tune.

This is something I’ve always appreciated them for. They seem to have a gift for great tracklist placement and allowing songs to melt into each other. It always makes their albums feel like a consistent whole, rather than just a collection of songs. So, even if lyrically one song doesn’t match, the musical queues set you up for the next song before you listen to it. Recover has a lot of songs that pop for different reasons. I think a lot of people will be drawn to the big shiny pop-ready tunes “Bury Us” and “Everybody Knows”. These are the most single ready songs on the album with big-sounding choruses and tightly focussed instrumentation. I won’t lie, I love both of those songs, however, I don’t think those are the standout songs on the album. My favourite song on the record is “Come As You Are” as of this writing. It’s this bold and passionate anthem of self-worth and loving yourself, that I think we genuinely need in times of depression and self-loathing.

Production-wise this album takes everything that I have liked about the consistency and clarity with In Rolling Waves and Simple Forms and mixes it with the sheer freedom of Passive Me, Aggressive You. This leads to an album that sounds beautiful and clear but also chaotic. You get songs like those little electronic musical intervals with tracks “Echoes in the Dark” and “Muscle Memory” which serve to add that little extra depth to the production and add to that feeling of completeness. The dark melancholic tracks like “Death” and “(An)aesthetic” are matched by the bright hopefulness of tracks such as “Monument” and “Easy”. It has soaring high and deep-diving lows. It’s been one of my favourite albums of 2020 and it was a real bright spot in what has been an utterly dismal year or sadness and confusion.

Now that I’ve reached the end of my love letter to this band, let me try to sum this up. The Naked and Famous exist as a bit of an oddity and also somewhat as part of the status quo. Their thought-provoking lyrics mixed with inspired musical talents are always wonders to listen to. It made me glad that I took a chance and picked up their first album on a whim after hearing them on the radio. As I don’t think I would have followed them quite as closely otherwise and I would have missed out on some of the most poetic and beautiful music that I have in my library. Are they for everyone? I couldn’t say, I think they have something to offer everyone that listens to them as over their career at this point they have run the gambit of genres. If you like electro-rock that mixes up their style then I would say to check them out. When it comes down to it, it’s a taste thing. I am still yet to see them in concert so I could say they are just an album band or not. Judging by the tours they do and the venue’s they perform at, I can only imagine they are as good in the flesh as on record.

For me, they excel at what they do in their genre. They make music that I adore and although not every song is a home run, I still appreciate it as they continue to make great songs. If anything I have said sounds interesting to you then I would highly recommend checking them out. I just can’t wait to see what they have in store next.