The Devil Whale - Teeth
2011, The Devil Whale
2011, The Devil Whale
Salt Lake City rockers The DevilWhale unwraps their inner garage band on their third album, Teeth.Channeling influences from artists such as The Animals, The Kinks and HarryNilsson, primary songwriting Brinton Jones and company work with a diverse castof friends and acquaintances to build a sound that's simultaneously antiquatedand new. The energy that pervades Teeth is expectant. The Devil Whaleconstantly seem on the verge of a breakthrough, particularly on the first partof the album. Unfortunately the breakthrough never quite materializes, althoughThe Devil Whale does manage to make a few cracks in the ceiling with"Golden", a fuzzy, garage pop number that show's off Jones' voice infine form. "Indian" features a memorable chorus wrapped up inpleasing vocal harmonies, and shows off the band's distinctive sense of melody.
"Werewolf Army" plays likea ballad, but is a tongue-in-cheek warning straight out of a horror film. Thetheme is pure cheese, but the music is well-written, and the song would playwell on the soundtrack of a horror film spoof. Jones shows hissinger/songwriter colors on "So-Called War", deconstructing whatappears to be a celebrity breakup in song. "Standing Stones" offersits own unique sense of beauty; a catchy number with a lovely melody that willstick in your head and a musical flow that seems as if Jones channeled the songfrom somewhere in the universe rather than writing it himself. The Devil Whale,seemingly have exhausted itself from such a great start, settles in for a solidif unremarkable final four songs.
The Devil Whale impresses, thenregresses, on Teeth, turning a near-brilliant seven song EP into anabove average full length album. Brinton Jones cuts some serious chops as asongwriter and singer, but its clear that The Devil Whale, while having found amusical identity, perhaps isn't 100% comfortable in its own shoes yet. Teethshows flashes of brilliance, and over the first 2/3 of the album is dressed toimpress. Don't be surprised if these guys just keep getting better.
Rating:3.5 Stars (Out of 5)
Learn more about The Devil Whale at www.thedevilwhale.comor www.myspace.com/thedevilwhale. Teethis available from Amazon.com as CDor Download. The album is also available via iTunes.