In The Whale- Full Nelson
by Tim Wenger
In The Whale brings the over-the-top energy of their stage show and momentum of the last year+ spent on the road into their new EP Full Nelson. I went back and listened to the opening track “Radio” again two additional times after a full listen thru of the five tracks and actually erased the sentence I had written about it being a cunning attempt at a mainstream modern rock album’s intro track that fell short of its goal, far away from what we expect from the current front runners of Denver alt-rock. In actuality, that doesn’t appear to be what Nate Valdez and Eric Riley were going for at all. Quite the opposite, it fact, and the same can be said of the entire EP.
What stands out the second time through is a sound that has broken free of the tight constraints of Denver’s music scene corps. At times hitting heavy on the ear drums, at others tugging at the tear drop about to fall from the right eye, what In The Whale is doing is keeping it fresh. Uncle Nasty said on Music Buzz LIVE Radio a couple months back that as he sees it, Denver’s scene has more artists than fans. The more I’ve thought about that, the more it seems true. While our scene is strong and very community oriented, a breath of fresh air now and then is nice. Any readers continually trolling the A-Sides page in Colorado Music Buzz every month looking for the new hip sound may have noticed my pen becoming sour, which is due to an inbox incresingly filled with bands that have little more to offer than an emphatic indie-centric attempt to please the talent buyers at Hi-Dive and Larimer Lounge.
As for In The Whale, touring with bands that come from other worlds and inserting themselves into the ears and judgments of new hordes of people each night seems to be doing good things for their music. The offering’s somber and emotional final tune, “Mail,” seems to explore the second guessing that can come along with exploration and progress. Variety is good, as all trends die, and In The Whale has figured that out. The record drops May 12.
Online: inthewhalesucks.com
Category: A-Sides
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