Send "Or, The Whale " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Tinymixtapes |
 San Francisco’s Or, The Whale is, in many ways, prototypical of everything we love about alternative country and, simultaneously, everything we hate about alternative country. Indeed, anybody whose ears perk at the sound of weathered harmonies, steel guitar moans, or brushed-snare shuffles will find plenty to be enamored with on the band’s recently re-released debut LP, Light Poles And Pines. But country music is a genre built on a notion of working-class, rural (or at least semi-rural), regionally-specific authenticity. Even the much-reviled products of the modern Nashville music machine manage to speak to specific instances common among target demographics, most of which still identify with small-town, rural America and working-class ethos.What Or, The Whale has done here is wrangle a handful of admittedly talented musicians to create a sort of portrait of what country music is allegedly supposed to sound like and look like and feel like, without, of course, coming off too redneck or too rustic or too unpolished. This image of American identity is composed of nameless people in nameless towns functioning as though they could be anywhere. Sprinkles of tried and tired tropes dot this featureless landscape. It seems as though the band’s vision is blurred not by the dust and sweat and drunkenness that gave us Woody Guthrie and Jimmie Rogers and Hank Williams, nor is it blinded by the sparkling rhinestone glitz of countrypolitan Nashville, nor is it rushed by as twinkling lights on the horizon seen from the highway. No, this is a vision blurred by vagueness attempting to evoke something that might or might not exist in the lives of those presenting it. ...full text |
| Popmasters |
| San Francisco’s Or, the Whale summon up a pleasant surprise on Light Poles and Pines, as if anything less could be expected from a band named after the Herman Melville novel—their niche is in a rather warm brand of country-rock. They have no qualms, for example, about name-dropping New Orleans for the sake of one of their good-natured, fuzzy choruses, even though they’re from California, or announcing “Gee-tar!” in the most Texan accent they can manage to cue a guitar solo in “Threads”. Light Poles is syrupy thick in rich harmonies and a yearning swoon that makes it impossible to ignore. What’s more, their eagerness to dabble in both their genres works to their advantage: the seven-member group eschew country’s ludicrous and irrelevant song titles, while their rock background enhances the application of their steely freight-train acoustic guitar chords and the drums contribute a straight, ever-pulsing beat. ...full text |
| Smother |
| The group has been together now for approximately two years but they sound as if it’s been two decades. Clever alt-country, Americana, roots rock, indie pop, and alternative tunes are all mangled together for one sound that is bootstrapping and dynamite. Catchy vocals are never marred by anything cutting or vagrant. Friendly structure-oriented rootsy songwriting makes this band sound as if they were playing on your back deck or front porch. Rhythmic choruses and dynamic ballads compress “Light Poles and Pines” into one hell of a damn album. ...full text |
Or, The Whale lyrics
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