Berlin Whale: ‘Berlin Whale’
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Berlin Whale Berlin Whale Rating: 4.5/5 |
The genre of music I prefer most likely has a name, but lucky for me I don’t read enough Pitchfork to know what it is. It’s the type of rock that makes you want to to tap your toe to the drum line, clap to the bass line and sing along to both the lead and backup vocals. You know the songs, the ones that you can play every instrument on expert in Rock Band. This is Berlin Whale. According to Last.fm, “Berlin Whale is an indie rock band; they are from St. Louis; you like them.” And it couldn’t be truer (side note: truer seems wrong, Microsoft Word, more true makes me happier).
In the opening song of their self-titled release, “Beatrice (Apples and Oranges),” the music is full bodied and forceful, yet the lyrics oscillate between the entire band sing-shouting and the lead chanting the words, “Open windows let’s climb in like criminals.” I’ll be honest; at this point I tend to get so into the music I can’t listen to the words, but I’m sure they’re awesome.
“Typhoon” tones things down, but ups the ante with a lot more Casio. The track opens with the repetition of “earthquake, hurricane” but is replaced by the sweet sound of Trevor’s voice. This song embodies the band’s spirit. Skirting the line between intricate musicianship and full-fledged energetic chaos, it’s easy to see how Berlin Whale put on a live show that makes you exhausted for days.
Recently the band went through a makeover, losing their drummer to the bright lights of the East Coast along with another member of the band. But Berlin Whale remains tight enough to rock through their intricate songs with the energy fans have come to expect from them.
“Berlin Whale” will appear at the Gargoyle on Feb. 28 as part of KWUR week.
Look for more information on that in the near future.
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