Said the Whale

Vancouver’s Said the Whale might sound like many other indie rock bands, but with its fourth studio album hawaiii, the five-piece outfit has perfected a sing-along pop groove that even surpasses 2009’s excellent Islands Disappear. The LP’s album artwork – showing a WWII-era fighter plane taking off from an airstrip in O’ahu – perfectly reflects the record’s summery tone. Single “I Love You,” is a perfect example - beginning as a pure rock ballad and ending with a catchy (but not kitschy) hook. The sing-along formula works best on the disc’s eighth track: “I was on the ropes when you needed my hand/I was on the dope when you needed me down/I was on the hip when you needed my heart/I was on the hopes that you needed me now.”

Published in Volume 68, Number 3 of The Uniter (September 18, 2013)

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