2009-08-08
This is the second album from the San Francisco seven-piece outfit, Or, the Whale. I find it to be a bit more "countryfied" than their first album, "Light Poles and Pines". This album of sometimes rocking, folk-country does have some good things to offer, such as nice production and vocal harmonies. Besides your basic guitar, drums, and vocals, Or, the Whale's brand of Americana also features dobro, pedal steel guitar and banjo. Most of the songs here are somewhat Starland Vocal Band-sounding in their country-pop harmonies. The more rocking songs are the album opener, "No Love Blues", the haunting "Keep Me Up", and the Jefferson Airplane-ish "Black Rabbit". Rebecca RuthKASEY CHAMBERS & SHANE NICHOLSON
Rattlin' Bones
Jimmy LaFave
Blue Nightfall
DRY THE RIVER
Weights and Measures [EP]
RENEE STAHL
Hopeful Romantic
THE SPARES
The Spares
William Nowik
Notes from the Underground
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