Nov. 16, 2011 - Issue #839: Ox
New Brighton EP
Said the Whale {recordings_bands_mg} New Brighton EP {/recordings_bands_mg}
Hidden Pony, 2011
3
As a between-albums teaser from Said the Whale, the four songs on New Brighton offer more of a victory lap than any sign of an immanent departure in sound. That's not such a bad thing: this band built its name trading in well-crafted, vocal-driven pop rock with deceptively simple song structures and inescapable hooks, so, uh, no hurry getting away from that. The title track coasts into heavier territory as it builds, while "Sandy Bay Fishing Song" rides a shanty-shuffle through the course of a Decemberists-like tale of merchant woe. That one offers the most hints of ambitious steps forwards—"Lines" is a simple sing-song, "Little Bird" a stripped down closer—but even though Said the Whale don't seem to be in a hurry to make any ambitious steps forwards, that's hardly to the detriment of the niche the band finds itself in now.
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