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Or, The Whale

Normally, when a band emails me to ask me to write something about them, I listen to a track or two, then say a polite “Thank you very much and send them on their way. However, for San Francisco seven piece “Or, the Whale, one listen on their MySpace had me intrigued. Then another listen, and another… and soon I realised that I actually quite liked them – they’re not just another wannabe, cookie-cutter indie band.

Digging for some terms to describe them, I found their last.fm page that perfectly describes them: “gritty, driving indie rock epics, sweet folk lullabies, and boot-stompin traditional country songs”. They manage to avoid the usual cliches, instead heading towards the more respectable path, having elements of New Pornographers, Trespassers William, a hint of Bright Eyes, and Invisible-Band era Travis about them.

“Rope Don’t Break” is a typical haunting country and western song, however this is no bad thing: Lindsay Garfield’s voice is strong and memorable, yet isn’t grating or irritating. Gently, plodding along, it sounds like it should be right at home on a montage of travelling out of the desert in a film.

“Saint Bernard” is immediately accesible, with memorable guitars that drive the song along, giving it a feel of a camp-fire singalong, perfect for long summer evenings. The introduction sounds more or less exactly the same as Travis’ “Pipe Dreams”, but sounds completely different after like 20 seconds – showing off their musica prowess pretty quickly and adeptly.

Jangly “Call and Response” features a-capella sing alongs, and barn-dance style melodies that are in sharp contrast to the more down-beat tunes earlier on the record.

Intelligent, memorable, and different to all the other “and me!” bands out there, give Or, The Whale a chance this summer.