Track 1: "Blue Skies" by Noah and the Whale

First Days of Spring is the second studio album from English band Noah and the Whale. It's instant appeal to me and I imagine other lovelorn folks is that it is one in a long line of break-up albums. In fact it is arguably my favorite break-up narrative committed to music since Of Montreal's A Bedside Drama. It's true-to-life roots result in the departure of the group's sole female presence, who is the subject of frontman Charlie Fink's laments here.



"Blue Skies" is the single off the album. It's opening invitation of "this is a song for anyone with a broken heart" quickly asserts this as an anthem for those who let such things get the best of them. What makes this particular break-up song worthy is it's message of inevitable resolution. For all the orchestrated moppiness, this track appears later in the album with the first signs of optimism. I choose this track for my Best of 2009 mix because I feel as if I spent much of the year looking to identify a true turning point...a sign that the weight of an emotional past is truly behind me and good things lay ahead.

1.) "Blue Skies" by Noah and the Whale

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