The Exploding Whales Drop A Rock Record With a Bit Of Everything
- BuzzSlayers
- 8 minutes ago
- 3 min read
If you are not yet familiar with The Exploding Whales, then let us be among the first to introduce you, as the band has recently released an album that breaches the boundaries of alternative rock, indie, and plenty of psychedelic and experimental attributes, along with a colorful but edgy approach that hits with an almost animated feel at times.
This is a record that definitely knows how to jam. They bring on loads of pop sensibility and plenty of catchy rhythms, including the first track, "Spacesuit, Rocket Fuel, and a Cigarette".
Which is a great job of sort of wrapping up the Indian psychedelic rock in one shot. It gets spacious and has that tendency throughout the rest of the release. You always have a bit of a vast underbelly, which I definitely dig, and there are plenty of surprises around its corners as well.
One of the things that really stands out about this record of the guitar work is that it is a little bit outside the box but also very bopping, catchy, and unique. Some of the songs come, including this first track in particular, another thing I really got pulled into.
Perhaps some of this has to do with that spacious feel, but it also has to do with those guitars and how they're put together in a way that allows them to feed into each other.
One of the other things that hits a lot throughout this release is the energy levels. You can hear this almost live performance style energy flowing through the record. It makes you want to go see them perform the entire thing live, simply because they can capture the essence of that on record so well.
Now, the record does give way to some garage rock styles and really hooky guitar work, including the song "Who Do You Love?".
The track is off a very gritty tonality and even attitude-riddled performance, from everyone, but the vocals really take the cake here. The vocalist does an amazing job of capturing a certain kind of character on this track, and it lets the song really thrive and come through with swagger.
There are songs on this record that hit a little bit harder, and I think it's mostly due to this expansive kind of sonic drive coming from the layers of guitars and bass.
At times, they create giant walls of sound that feel like they're crashing down. Still very melodic, but just robust and almost overtaking. "Shakedown" serves as a pretty perfect example of this.
The progression is awesome, and there's definitely still experimental elements in the guitar work throughout the track, but it's that massive presence of Sonic tone that takes over everything.
And then there are times where they compile and blend loads of the pop element in with the experimental, garage, and indie all at once, like the closing track, "Cherry Bomb", which is a sort of fist-in-the-air chant of a chorus that you end up following along with.
This is definitely a record that doesn't hold a lot back and feels freeing, in a sense.
They're not putting walls up around the songwriting or confining to one particular kind of genre. It's all rock music, but it's drawing from different eras and sub-genres of rock, so it's got its own atmosphere and feels almost universal most of the time.
Nothing is really over the top in terms of experimentation. Again, the pop sensibility always shows face and lets the songs come through in a flavorful, tasteful kind of manner.
This was a little bit progressive, unafraid to get gritty and dirty, and loads of fun.
Some of these songs should be playing all over the airwaves on any major rock radio station right now because they fit perfectly.
The production is also really well done. It's not lo-fi really. It's like a line that's walked between lo-fi and super produced.
I love that vibe and aesthetic because it goes along with the songwriting perfectly. So, you can tell there was a lot of attention paid to the arrangements, and also the tones come along with how the songs were recorded so that the final product would fit into this wonderfully perfected category of rock music that sits firmly outside the box, but remains slightly familiar, ultra catchy, and the whole thing is just a soiree.
Listen to the whole record all the way through. It's the best way to go because again, there are those surprises around its corners, but really, the songs fall together in such a great way when you listen to the record from start to finish.
Don't miss out on this one, and remember where you heard it first.
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