Quick Facts About Local Natives

• Several of the band’s members met each other at Tesoro High School in Orange County, California. Kelcey, Taylor, and Ryan went on to go to UCLA together, where they met Andy and Matt. In 2008, the group of five musicians moved in together in Silver Lake, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, and started recording together.
• The band’s members contribute to every aspect of each album, including production, mixing and mastering, and even cover art. However, Local Natives has collaborated with several notable producers, including Aaron Dessner, Shawn Everett, and Little Dragon.
• The band has collaborated with Classixx and Sylvan Esso, two pillars of the indie-pop scene.
• They contributed to 30 Days, 30 Songs, a project created by author Dave Eggers intended to discourage listeners from voting for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
• The band is estimated to have a collective net worth of $6 million.
• They named their first album, Gorilla Manor, after the house that the members lived in Silver Lake while recording.
• Local Natives covered Kanye West’s Ultralight Beam for a live session with Spotify in 2016.

Local Natives: The Music

Below are key facts about each of the band’s four albums.

Gorilla Manor

• Released in November of 2009 in the UK and February 2010 in the US, Gorilla Manor was produced by the band and released via Infectious Records and Frenchkiss Records. After its release, the album went on to hit No. 3 on the Billboard New Artist Charts, also getting into the US albums chart.
• The album features a cover of “Warning Sign,” a song originally by The Talking Heads. The original version of the track, written by David Byrne and Chris Frantz, was produced by acclaimed sound designer Brian Eno.
• Gorilla Manor earned positive reviews from numerous music outlets, including Pitchfork, who gave the record an 8.4/10 score and placed it in their “best new music” category. Ian Cohen of Pitchfork described the album as being marked by “songwriting skill and youthful energy.” Their masterful use of vocal harmonies is also noted.

Hummingbird

• Co-produced by the band, Aaron Dessner of The National, and Raymond Richards, their second album, Hummingbird, is Local Natives’ second studio album. The record features the singles “Breakers” and “Heavy Feet,” the former of which reached No. 12 on the Billboard Top 200.
• “Mt. Washington,” a track from the album, was included in the official soundtrack for the 2015 video game Life is Strange.
• The band nominated Aaron Dessner to co-produce the album after Local Natives toured in support of Dessner’s band, The National. Drummer Matt Frazier said, “One night, after maybe drinking a little bit too much, [Dessner] was like, ‘Maybe I should work with you guys.’ We were like ‘Sure, buddy.’”
• The majority of the lyrics on the album were inspired by the death of vocalist Kelcey Ayer’s mother and bassist Andy Hamm leaving the band.
• Several of the tracks on Hummingbird were mixed by renowned engineer Peter Katis, a frequent collaborator of bands like Death Cab for Cutie, Frightened Rabbit, Interpol, and more.

Sunlit Youth

• The band’s third album, Sunlit Youth, was released on September 9th, 2016, and features the singles “Past Lives,” “Villainy,” “Fountain of Youth,” and “Coins.”
• Recordings on the album include guest appearances from Moses Sumney and Nina Persson. Production assistance on the album was provided by Swedish indie pop band Little Dragon, and Shawn Everett served as an engineer and mixer.
• The album reached No. 8 on the US Top Rock Albums chart.

Violet Street

• The band’s fourth album, Violet Street, was produced by Shawn Everett, who had previously worked with artists like Kacey Musgraves and Julian Casablancas. Released via Loma Vista Recordings on April 26th, 2019, the album’s best-known track is the upbeat, piano-driven “When Am I Gonna Lose You.”
• In a positive review, Pitchfork described the album as “personal” and “timeless,” going on to describe the album’s lyricism as “genial, approachable, and optimistic,” characteristics that are hallmarks of their hometown in Southern California.
• In their 8.5/10 review, The Line of Best Fit described the record as a return to form for Local Natives, describing the changes in mood in the band’s music since the release of Hummingbird. Oliver Kuscher of The Line of Best Fit wrote, “[Local Natives’] existential quandaries manifest themselves in brighter, more buoyant moments too.”