 |
 Caught in the Carousel - Music Reviews and More
|
Said the Whale
Howe Sounds/Taking Abalonia
Pop Machine
Said The Whale is a group of fresh-faced, wide-eyed musicians from Western Canada. They sound young, they are young, and they do the fashionable indie folk/pop thing pretty convincingly. Their debut album Howe Sounds/Taking Abalonia, is teeming with wriggly, energetic songs, ranging from jaunty pop-rock anthems to tiny, wimpish folk ditties. Both extremes are handled well, but like a lot of young bands, there is the risk of sounding derivative, and comparisons to indie heroes such as The Shins and The Decemberists too easily spring to mind. Those among us with a low threshold for fervent syrupy vocals may get a bit of cringe on some of the slower and more melodramatic tracks, but thankfully there are plenty of stompy beat-driven pop songs to break things up. It will be interesting to see what becomes of Said The Whale, and I'm certain that if they develop their sound they will carve a place for themselves in the crowded world of indie folk/pop—that being said, they're a band off to a running start, with a great debut album and massive potential.
—Mike Crook
Can we help you find something?