Noisettes

The original trio brought Shoniwa’s singing and bass together with Dan Smith’s guitar and Jamie Morrison’s drums. What’s the Time Mr. Wolf? in 2007 follows an earlier EP chapter, giving the group’s forceful live-oriented sound a full album setting. The music can turn quickly from an abrasive passage towards something more restrained, making contrast part of the first identity.

The instrumental economy matters. Three players can make a substantial noise, but the vocal remains capable of changing the temperature of the room with a single phrase. The rougher setting gives that flexibility a particularly clear frame.

Wild Young Hearts in 2009 includes Don’t Upset the Rhythm and Never Forget You, two songs that reveal different kinds of movement. One makes the dance invitation explicit, while the other gives the melody a more familiar soul-pop swing. The production is more polished than the debut, but the singer’s dramatic instincts remain easy to hear. Contact in 2012 adds another album chapter, with material including That Girl and Never Enough. The catalogue’s development is therefore more interesting than a simple change from rock to pop. The earlier records establish a band willing to make abrupt turns; the later ones find other instrumental and rhythmic languages in which that restlessness can operate. The performance’s sense of occasion keeps the smoother songs from becoming anonymous, preserving an audible personality within the larger melodic frame.