 | Freelance Whales |
A band that has captured some hearts of the indie crowd with their sweet and peppy indie rock stylings is Freelance Whales, who dropped this, their debut full length album Weathervanes, earlier this year. They have all the trappings of good current indie rock with some unconventional instrumentations and off-beat piecemeal song construction all done with just the right amount of cute-ness and twee. They have a very nice, soft, unassuming delivery that can at times bely their very solid material, but it also makes them adorably listenable at almost all times. It is not going to win any awards for edginess or for being in your face, but it will charm with its unassuming, disarming indie rock.
Freelance Whales are a band that showcases some really solid tracks here on their debut. The album opening of “Generator ^ First Floor” into “Hannah” is very solid and sets a great tone for the record. Clever, wordy lyrics delivered in the most unassuming way over well orchestrated indie pop oozes out of every inch of this record. They have created some very listenable stuff here that is hard not to like. “Location” and “Starring” both feature shimmering indie pop choruses that shine with their peppiness and general good vibes. This is not a downer band at all, and pretty much every song takes on such a positive, peppy vibe due to their delivery that it is a great upbeat indie record. There is more complexity to it than being pop songs though, and they build in all the hallmarks of noisy synths and echoey backing choruses to give a real sense and weight to the songs as well.
Other good songs here include “We Could Be Friends”, a chilled out xylophoned ballad-y song, and “Generator ^ Second Floor”, a triumphant sounding rhythmic gem of a song. The album closes out with an excellent quiet song “The Great Estates”, a perfect typical closer, dramatic and sweeping and vibrant yet intimate as well.
This is a very solid debut from these guys. Part of their undeniable charm is the way they approach all of the songs and the way they sound so unassuming throughout the record. Ultimately, part of what holds the record from being great in my mind is that it can’t really do too much other than be an adorable indie rock record, and really needed some extra pushes and pulls in other directions to transcend itself out of being just a well-executed, charming record. There is huge potential with these guys and they really have a great style and delivery about them, and I think as they mature as song writers and artists they will only get stronger and better. They haven’t really done anything wrong here at all, and have delivered a very strong record exactly as I imagine they wanted to. While it is a satisfying debut, the moments where they took more chances and were more aggressive on the album stand as the best, and hopefully going forward, we will hear more of that.
Freelance Whales – Generator ^ Second Floor – From Weathervanes (Amazon | iTunes)
Freelance Whales – Starring – From Weathervanes (Amazon | iTunes)
