Charlie Fink seemed to be what some folks might call clinically depressed for quite some time. The ending of his relationship with longtime partner Laura Marling started the creation of some of the most heart-wrenchingly sad music ever created. There were hints of potential joy; yet it was always clouded with a shroud of sadness — a heavy blanket of malaise and mourning over every note Fink sang. So popping in Noah and the Whale’s newest release, Last Night on Earth, is a bit of a shock to the system. Sure, the trademark monotone style of Fink is still there, but the music and subject matter are totally different.

This isn’t just more positive — it’s positively motivational at times. Fink, who acknowledges this difference says, “I think after making two records you start to become a little more ambitious about what you can do in the studio. I wanted to challenge myself as a writer and the band as performers to not rely on anything familiar.” It’s this lack of familiarity that makes it so wonderful to hear Fink sing on “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.”: “On my last night on earth, I’d pay a high price to have no regrets to be done with my life.” And it sounds like more than just words, it actually sounds like he might be headed in that direction — moving on, evolving. Sure, there’s still some sadness and a feeling of being lost on songs like “Wild Thing,” but it is evocative of Lou Reed and lacks the predominant tone of despair.

“Lyrically the two biggest influences were Tom Waits’s Bone Machine and Lou Reed’s Berlin,” says Fink. “I was always listening to a lot of Springsteen, Prince — Dirty Mind era — and Arthur Russell.” And of the two, there is definitely an Velvet Underground feel, but some of the irony that Waits uses in his lyric writing can be found on Last Night on Earth.

Although Noah and the Whale have had two of their three full-lengths land in the top 10 in the UK, they haven’t found quite the same success internationally. When creating the album though, Fink thought little about this.

“I try to not think too much about that kind of thing and just deliver something that makes sense to me. I think all you can do is fulfill your vision, and whether that matches peoples expectations or not is secondary.”

Fink sounds sincere when he says, “Your life is your life, know it while you have it.” It sounds like he’s actually taking the time to listen to his advice. And although listening to pure pain in music form is beautiful in one way, this following of the potential of life makes for a much more pleasant listening experience.