Time Will Wait For No One

Having embraced a sunbaked 70s Laurel Canyon vibe on 2019s Violet Street, Local Natives turn up the vintage heat with 2023s soul-infused Time Will Wait for No One. Produced with John Congleton, Michael Harris, and Danny Reisch, the album certainly evokes the sultry, post-hippie soul and soft rock of artists like Boz Scaggs and Robbie Dupree. That said, the record never feels retro. On the contrary, even when the band drape themselves in the dreamy synths and fretless bass grooves of "Featherweight" (a song that wouldnt sound out of place on a Peter Gabriel album of the 80s), the results have a contemporary edge. Its a balance the Los Angeles band have been striking since breaking through with 2009s Gorilla Manor, the album that introduced their rhythmically kinetic brand of harmony-driven indie rock and drew comparisons to both classic groups like the Zombies and contemporary acts like Fleet Foxes. Here, they continue to blend sounds, conjuring a bit of late-60s orchestral psychedelia on "Just Before the Morning" and diving into the fizzy, early-2000s post-punk romanticism of "NYE." Theres even a jazzy, progressive quality to the groups multi-part harmonies, as on the opening title track and the sultry "Empty Mansions." If anything, singer Taylor Rices burnished falsetto and knack for wavering, languorous melodic hooks has only gotten better with age. Somewhat improbably, cuts like "Empty Mansions" and "Just Before the Morning" evoke a wild mix of combinations, like Jeff Buckley covering a DAngelo song, or perhaps Radiohead taking on Boyz II Men. All of this is an enticing and pleasing evolution for the band and one they sustain throughout Time Will Wait for No One. ~ Matt Collar