Local Natives (formerly known as Cavil at Rest) is an indie rock band based in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, USA. Their debut album, Gorilla Manor, was first released in the UK in November 2009, and later released in the US on
... Local Natives (formerly known as Cavil at Rest) is an indie rock band based in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, USA. Their debut album, Gorilla Manor, was first released in the UK in November 2009, and later released in the US on February 16, 2010. The album received mostly positive reviews and debuted in the Billboard 200 and at #3 in the New Artist Chart.
Their sound has been described as "afropop-influenced guitars with hyperactive drumming and hooky three-part harmonies". Clash Music has also described their style as psych-folk, or modern worldly folk.
The band came together in Orange County, where Kelcey Ayer, Ryan Hahn, and Taylor Rice attended high school. One year after graduating, they were joined by bassist Andy Hamm and drummer Matt Frazier. In December 2008, they all moved to a house in Silver Lake and started work on their debut album.
The self-funded Gorilla Manor was recorded by Raymond Richards in his own Red Rockets Glare Studio, in West Los Angeles, and was produced by Richards and the band.
Everything the band creates comes from a complete collaboration between their members, from songwriting to artwork. Their debut album, Gorilla Manor, was named after the house they all shared in Orange County, where most of the album was written. “It was insanely messy and there were always friends over knocking around on guitars or our thrift store piano,” said Hahn. “It was an incredible experience and I’ll never forget that time.”
The band started to attract the attention of the music press after playing nine shows at the 2009 SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, where initial reviews drew favorable comparisons to Arcade Fire, Fleet Foxes, and Vampire Weekend, as well as "sort of a West Coast Grizzly Bear."
Before embarking on a European tour in support of the UK release of Gorilla Manor, the band served as opening act for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, earning buzz and accolades for their harmonies, percussion, and songwriting.
