Weathervanes by Freelance Whales

I really hope the album cover
is actually made out of felt

I think Freelance Whales is a brilliant name. I've been pondering about the sorts of jobs one might hire a freelance whale for. My favourite theory so far has the freelance whales holding a mobster  stranglehold on the whale watching tourist industry. If you want to take a boat out and look at whales, you have to pay these guys off first. The first time you don't pay them,  the whales will refuse to swim majestically beside your boat and it will be super lame. If you don't pay them the second time you go out, these fuckers want your blood. Just every whale in the ocean will find you and they will sink your boat and rip every passenger on board in two. Do not fuck with these guys. Seriously. They will fill your shoes with concrete, drop you in the ocean, and eat you like an underwater lollipop.  

Another idea I had was for a ghostbusters style advert. Except instead of ghosts it'd be

"If you got some fish
stinking up your fridge
Who you gonna call?
FREELANCE WHALES"

Let's get onto the review shall we?





A Recipe for Mum's Own 'Freelance Whales':

Take equal parts Sufjan Stevens and Death Cab for Cutie and blend together thoroughly with an electric mixer. Add to saucepan and bring just to boil. Next, stir in one cup of repeatedly sifted Owl City. It’s best to double check the sifting and make certain that you’ve got all the chunks of shit out of the Owl City. Pretty sure screwing that up will ruin the recipe. Once the mixture has thickened to the proper consistency, remove from heat and put in a non-stick pan. Let it sit overnight in the fridge. For increased enjoyment, sprinkle the top with a healthy amount of Phoenix.

Serve with aimless summer drives to nowhere, balconies watching the sunset, or beach dance parties.

Three songs into ‘Weathervanes’ the only thing I could think was “These are the pop songs that should be playing on the radio”.   They’re light, catchy and have good flow. The lyrics are whimsical and poetic but not in a pretentious hipster sort of way. Also, there’s a banjo. Banjos are the best. Every album from now on needs at least one banjo.

The influences in 'Weathervanes' aren't difficult to spot but Freelance Whales manage to carve out their own unique sound while dishing out a fairly diverse catalog of songs. And as we all know, diversity is a good thing.

Three first three tracks "Generator ^ First Floor", "Hannah", and "Location" give you a good taste to Freelance Whales' flexibility while sucking you into their style.

"Generator ^ First Floor" slowly builds for a minute and a half around a banjo riff before dropping off into the first example off odd yet charming lyrics.

"Hannah" is a slower song, sung overtop of an electronic intro but contrasted with fastpaced lyrics that weave together so nicely.

"Location": Pure love for this song. Here's the opening lyrics:

"I am starting to sense your location

You are somewhere in the attic
Looking something close to tragic
Dating t-shirts and your mattress
I'm floating on the stairwell
With my toes grazed in the cedar
Thinking softly would a tender box leave them in..."

Other highlights on this album include the very Sufjan Stevens sounding "Broken Horses" and the just-oh-my-goodness-so-sweet-and-adorable "We Could Be Friends". If kittens could be turned into audiofiles, they would be "We Could Be Friends"

This cat. You could be friends with him.
Attribute: Heather Hopkins

This album is a great summer album. Just don't listen to the lyrics too much or it might get you a little down. I give it a 4.5/6.