Band: Secret And Whisper
Title: Great While Whale
Label: Tooth & Nail
Review By: JoshIVM
Tracklisting:
01. Blonde Monster
02. You Are Familiar
03. Vanishings
04. XOXOXO
05. The Actress
06. Spider Besider
07. Looming Moon
08. Attacker
09. Anchors
10. Werewolves
11. Lovers
12. Great While Whale
You probably know the story by now. There was a band named Stutterfly who lost their vocalist. They replaced him with Charles Furney and due to how much his vocals affected their sound, they opted for a new moniker. So began Secret And Whisper. It certainly didn’t take long after that for T&N to scoop them up. They were last in a series of signings of bands from the Great White North but also the ones with the most potential for success. You also have undoubtedly heard the comments that this band is a complete rip-off of Saosin and Circa Survive. I think this is predominantly due to the fact that Charles’ vocals are similar to both Anthony Green’s and Cove Reber’s ranges and approach, but there are musical matches as well. However, while I due acknowledge the similarities, I wont go so far as to call them rip-offs. So that’s the back story if you want it.
For a band in this genre keep the music upbeat and surprisingly heavy on the majority of the album. Normally if a band is going to keep it heavy they will throw in some screams and I’m glad this band didn’t. The opener, “Blonde Monster” is a great build-up track and begins to introduce you to Furney’s range, before jumping full on into “You Are Familiar“. This track is a perfect track to introduce people to the band. Through the song it shows the various sounds the band provides throughout the rest of the disc. “XOXOXO” is the single, which is a driving, heavy track with a killer chorus! This band really knows how to write great songs, as it was hard for me to find any weak tracks on this album. The band also slows things down on tracks like “The Actress” and “Werewolves” which focus more directly on Furney’s vocals than the music.
Overall Rating: I have played this album straight through numerous times and have yet to get sick of it. If they are a “rip-off” as people claim, they are a mighty good one. In fact, I’d say that Secret & Whisper has released a better album than the band people claim they copy. This album was by far the most enjoyable out of T&N‘s new crop of debuts lately. Great White Whale has provided with me with every I wanted in an album like this and will definitely be heard emanating from my speakers for some time to come! (9/10)
Standout Tracks: “XOXOXO”, “You Are Familiar”, “Werewolves”
Links:
Myspace
Tooth & Nail
Buy: Zambooie