Noah and the Whale were an English alternative/folk group formed in Twickenham, London in 2006. Their final line-up consisted of Charlie Fink (vocals, guitar), Tom Hobden (fiddle, keyboards), Matt "Urby Whale" Owens (bass), Fred Abbott (keyboards, guitar) and Matthew Petulla (drums). Former members of the band include Doug Fink (drums), Laura Marling (vocals, guitar) and Jack Hamson (drums). According to Songfacts, the band's name is a combination of the title of one of their favorite films, The Squid and the Whale and Noah Baumbach, who directed the movie.
They released their debut album Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down - which contains the UK Top 10 hit 5 Years Time - in August of 2008.
A year later, following the end of a relationship between Charlie Fink and Laura Marling, the band released The First Days Of Spring, a concept album written about Laura. It came with a film to accompany the album, written and directed by Charlie.
The band's third album Last Night on Earth was released in March 2011. This album produced a hit single with L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N., which sold over 242,000 copies in the UK that year.
In 2013 their fourth album, Heart of Nowhere, was released. This release was also accompanied by a short film of the same name.
The band announced their split on 1 April 2015, stating that the band members would pursue solo musical projects.