- Release Info -------------------------------------------------------------- -
Artist: Or, The Whale
Album: Or, The Whale
Label: Seany Records
Playtime: 42:15 min
Genre: Indie
URL: http://www.orthewhale.com
Rip date: 2009-09-04
Street date: 2009-09-22
Size: 63.35 MB
Type: Normal
Quality: 199 kbps / 4410kHz / Joint Stereo
- Release Notes ------------------------------------------------------------- -
ôVoices everywhere, caught again in the devilÆs snare,ö belts lead vocalist
and guitarist Alex Robins of San Francisco-based Or, the Whale on the second
song of the bandÆs newest album. The song, ôDatura,ö is a rollicking ode to
the hallucinogenic properties of jimson weed, but could just as easily be a
description of the band itself. The soaring vocal harmonies and Neil
Young-inspired guitar riffs found on Or, the WhaleÆs self-titled sophomore
album yield a fiendishly potent listening experience, which may even provoke
your own hallucinations.
Or the Whale
On the heels of 2007Æs Light Poles and Pines (which featured the bandÆs debut
single ôCall and Responseö and helped earn them a 2008 Hollywood Music Award
for Best Americana/Roots Artist as well as a coveted spot on Radio & Records
Top 100 Americana Artists of 2008), Or, the Whale cannot so easily be pinned
down. Tracks like ôBlack Rabbit,ö which features a gale-force chorus above
electric feedback and pounding drums, play out as if in an effort to prove
just how hard the band can rock. At other times, as on ôNever Coming Outö-a
paranoid and agoraphobic rail ride that explodes into a final a capella
starburst-Or, the Whale showcases their ability to present a reflective,
stripped-down arrangement (no small feat for a band with seven members).
Likewise, the creeping ôKeep Me Upö shows how Led ZeppelinÆs ôNo Quarterö
might sound if re-imagined through the mournful wail of pedal steel.
Like any good San Francisco band, Or, the Whale partially owes its inception
to the online bulletin board service Craigslist; at one point, Robins and
Matt Sartain (guitar and vocals) posted an ad titled ôWanna Form a Sweet
Country Rock Band?ö and recruited fellow vocalist Lindsay Garfield from a
listing she had written looking for a guitar player. From there, the three
set about enlisting bandmates Julie Ann Thomasson on keyboards and vocals,
Justin Fantl on bass, Jesse Hunt on drums, and later Tim Marcus on pedal
steel guitar.
Four years later, after a live appearance on Good Morning America, attention
in USA Today, Paste, Magnet, and Billboard magazines, sold-out engagements on
both coasts, and shows with the likes of Fleet Foxes, Devil Makes Three, The
Dodos, and Two Gallants, Or, The Whale has grown into something that is
neither country nor rock, but exists somewhere in the space between the two.
And ôspaceö is certainly the new name of the game for this band. After
recording Light Poles and Pines in a single extended weekend, the band made
sure to take their time with their new effort, meticulously arranging each
song to allow room for each instrument to contribute in the most effective
way possible. The result is an album with more complexity and shape, not to
mention diversity and emotional impact.
Or, the Whale is a band that will rock you, make you dance, and maybe even
inspire you to contribute to their amazing vocal pyrotechnics-voices
everywhere, indeed.
- Track List ---------------------------------------------------------------- -
01. No Love Blues ( 3:34)
02. Datura ( 3:08)
03. Rusty Gold ( 3:42)
04. Never Coming Out ( 3:45)
05. Count The Stars ( 5:07)
06. Keep Me Up ( 4:15)
07. Black Rabbit ( 4:13)
08. Giving Up Time ( 2:35)
09. Shasta ( 4:13)
10. Terrible Pain ( 3:54)
11. No Death ( 3:49)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -