2013 release from the Vancouver-based Alt-Rock band. Said the Whale has been on a steady upward trajectory for the past six years, as relentless touring and a prolific string of releases have led to successes including a Juno Award in 2011 for New Group of the Year and nationally charting singles. In 2013, the tireless five-piece continue to break down doors by releasing it's most adventurous and hook-filled batch of songs yet. Once again teaming with longtime studio collaborator Tom Dobrzanski (We Are the City, the Zolas) at his Monarch Studios, the musicians pushed their musical limits and honed their love of fast, punchy pop-rock.
The fourth long-player from amiable indie rockers Said the Whale finds the Canadian quintet offering up another engaging set of homespun and heartfelt confections full of sharp, melodic twists and turns, and peppered with quirky, yet bittersweet musings that reflect a climate prone to overcast days. Featuring an infectious single in "I Love You," a radio-ready summer pop gem that pits the calculated, stripped-down propulsion of Spoon against the explosive chorus building of fellow Vancouverites Mother Mother, Hawaiii is the band's most well-crafted, and deliberately misspelled collection of songs to date. One of the band's greatest strengths is that it employs two extremely capable songwriters, and as was the case on 2012's Little Mountain, the load is spread pretty evenly between Ben Worcester's self-deprecating, conversational prose and Tyler Bancroft's fluid, pop-perfect croon. The arrangements are more ornate this time around as well, which is befitting of a band thatￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬ￢ﾄﾢs hot off of a Juno Award for best new artist. Carefully constructed harmonies abound, especially on standout cuts like the resplendent ￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬￅﾓMother,ￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬￂﾝ which sounds like the Vaccines inoculated by the Beach Boys, and the richly detailed, multi-layered ￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬￅﾓWillow,ￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬￂﾝ which sounds like the Beach Boys inoculated by the Vaccines. Elsewhere, the band explores icy, textural electro-pop on the languid ￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬￅﾓResolutions,ￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬￂﾝ staccato Vampire Weekend-inspired, pre-adulthood angst on ￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬￅﾓI Could Smoke,ￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬￂﾝ and finally, the cruel and beautiful crush of existence on the penultimate and final tracks, ￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬￅﾓHelpless Sonￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬￂﾝ and the lovely, Lucksmiths-esque ￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬￅﾓWeight of the Season,ￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬￂﾝ the latter of which is as moving and evocative as anything the band has released to date. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi
