The 2 Bears - Be Strong
Feb 23, 2012
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Said The Whale - New Brighton
:: November 10, 2011 :: by Nick Coyne
Said The Whale has a distinct jangle-poppy and indie pop sound which was shown off in an concise and fun manner in the New Brighton EP. The Vancouver-based band does this through 4 quick songs with a profoundly upbeat and twangy guitar sound. These guitars are accompanied with an entrancing and swooning chorus to be found on each track.
The title track opens the album and it’s a high energy poppy track that has a very sing-along chorus that is accompanied by a heavy drum and delicate piano playing over the chorus. The album’s lyrical content is very good in the way it relates the pressures of loving of your hometown, but also wanting expand beyond it via individualism.
The 2nd track, “Sandy Bay Fishing Song”, is very reminiscent of a Decemberists song. It has a nautical theme and is filled with harmonies that have a soulful and whining sound, all accompanied by a spastic and ringing guitar sound. It changes tempo a lot and is exciting throughout. Definitely the standout track from the small collection.
“Lines” is a decent and basic indie-pop song, it’s a very good bridge from the up-tempo pace set in the first 2 songs to the folky and slow song that closes out the EP.
“Little Bird” is a beautiful folk song that tells the story of a newfound love. It starts off on acoustic guitar and slowly leads to a xylophone playing in the chorus.
It’s a fantastic close to a well put together EP. It’s definitely a symbol of things to come for the band and will definitely build a great deal of excitement towards their future projects.