Said the Whale - Islands Disappear

Tracks

		Track Name	Length
	1	Dear Elkhorn
	2	Out on the Shield
	3	B.C. Orienteering
	4	Camilo (The Magician)
	5	Emerald Lake, Alberta
	6	Islands Disappear
	7	Black Day in December
	8	Gentleman
	9	False Creek Change
	10	A Cold Night Close to the End
	11	The Gift of a Black Heart
	12	The Gift of a Black Heart
	12	Goodnight Moon
	13	Holly, Ontario
	13	Goodnight Moon
	14	Holly, Ontario

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Information/Write-up

With a handful of EPs to its name, Said the Whale made good on much of the promise it has generated touring heavily over the last year and a half with Islands Disappear. The band’s first full-length album, Islands Disappear charts some of those cross-Canadian travels with songs like "Dear Elkhorn" and "Emerald Lake, AB," evocative tunes that capture the playful side of a hard-working band. Said the Whale has crafted an album that is folksy and poppy, alternating as the band turns its gaze from Canada to its hometown of Vancouver in songs like "False Creek Change" and "Black Day In December," chronicling the destruction left by a recent winter storm. New addition Jaycelyn Brown transforms "Camilo (The Magician)" into an unusually raucous rocker reminiscent of early Thrush Hermit.

I'm sure I've said it before, but one of the best things about having blogged for so long is that I've been able to see bands grow and evolve over the past four years. Said The Whale make an excellent case in point. When I first heard them, they were a emo-leaning band with one amazing song ("LIve Off Lamb") that sounded like the best thing The Shins never wrote. Fast forward to last year's release of Howe Sounds, and they'd shed most of those emo tendencies towards something more mature. In large part this was because the band had grown from a duo to a five-piece, and the larger line-up meant they were free to explore more complex vocal arrangements and more interesting melodies.

Now that the band has come out with their first proper full-length (Howe Sounds and Taking Abalonia were both EPs, albeit relatively long ones), it's nice to see that those explorations bore fruit, and that Said The Whale have fully lived up to their potential. That much is apparent in the opening bars of "Out On The Shield", with the gorgeous rush of vocals that tumble out as the song starts. It's obvious after listening to "Camilo (The Magician)", when the band throws together an incredibly catchy riff with an even catchier chorus. And if, two-thirds of the way into the album, there was any doubt left as to whether the band has lived up to their promise (and then some), it's completely erased by "False Creek Change, when the band blends bouncy sea shanty with modern pop to magical effect.

Obviously, as I said just a few lines ago, a substantial part of Said The Whale's success can be attributed to the fact the band expanded their line-up and, in the process, expanded their ability to explore more interesting arrangements. But, at the same time, I don't want to diminish the fact that the band's two principals, Ben Worcester and Tyler Bancroft, have grown substantially over the past few years. That first EP, after all, only had one or two songs of note, with the rest sounding like a lot of filler (or, if not filler, than like a band not sure how they wanted to sound and feeling things out). Here, by contrast, there's not really a weak moment to be found. There are some songs that are incredible, for sure, but there's not a huge drop in quality from the great songs to the merely good ones. Worcester and Bancroft have very clearly improved as songwriters, and they deserve all kinds of praise for being able to do that.

Really, though, Islands Disappear should garner enough praise that there'll be more than enough to go around between Worcester, Bancroft and their other three bandmates. Said The Whale have come a tremendous distance between where they started and where they are now, and they should be incredibly proud of that fact. Everyone else, in the meantime, should just be amazed...and not just by their progress, but also by the end results on display on Islands Disappear

Want to win Islands Disappear? Thanks to Hidden Pony, i(heart)music has a copy to give away. To enter to win, just e-mail me your name and mailing address by next Monday, and I'll pick a winner randomly!

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