Local Natives - ‘Hummingbird’ + Mojo Punch
Ingredients: 16 ounces light rum, 16 ounces dark rum, 8 ounces cherry brandy, 3 cans light beer, 2.5 cans 7-Up soda, 2 qt pineapple juice, 2 bags ice. (*serves 10-12)
Mixing Instructions: Mix all ingredients in a large container and stir periodically.
Notes: Art of any kind reaches its apogee when pulling from life’s most deeply emotional experiences. Since the release of their 2010 debut, Gorilla Manor, the L.A. based indie rock band has added these experiences in bundles noting, “We’ve had the craziest highest highs of our lives in the last two years, and we’ve also had the lowest lows at the same time.” For their follow-up, translating these experiences into song in a meaningful way was aided by The National’s Aaron Dessner who produced the album and provided the creative direction of an older brother figure.
Slightly darker and more subdued, Hummingbird is a music lover’s album, filled with image-rich lyrics - “Waiting for my words to catch like // I’m trying to strike a match that’s soaking wet”, as well as rolling melodies and percussion that wash over the listener like ocean swells. As readers take for granted when consuming a great novel, it has its full impact only when enjoyed as a whole - invite over the friends and listen over and over until the punch bowl is empty. Why punch? Because punch is a good drink when the drink isn’t the point.