Vancouver indie rockers Said the Whale may be down a member, but the new music they previewed last year has finally made its way onto a finished album. As Long as Your Eyes Are Wide is due out on March 31 through Hidden Pony Records.
It marks the full-length follow-up to 2013's hawaiii, though the band also delivered a remix EP back in 2014. The latest batch of songs was recorded in Vancouver with producer Cayne McKenzie of We Are the City — who helped keep everything sounding smooth, despite the sessions getting interrupted by huge life event's like the birth of children and extended honeymoons.
"As Long as Your Eyes Are Wide is a return to how Tyler [Bancroft] and I used to make music," Said the Whale's Ben Worcester said in a statement. "Which is just experimenting with anything and everything. We started out using Casio keyboards and drumbeats on our computers, and then we turned into a rock band. This is a return to being free to make anything."
But despite the opportunity for freewheeling experimentation, the resulting record remains a songwriting-driven album, propelled by "introspective lyrics" and "arresting, alchemical group harmonies."
"This is our most personal, earnest record for sure," Bancroft added. "Even the upbeat songs are lamenting and sad."
An introduction to the new material is expected in the new year, with the arrival of a lead single slated to drop in January. Eager fans can pick up tickets to see the band on an upcoming run of shows before the new single drops, though. Tickets for the dates listed below go on sale this Friday (December 16).
Tour dates:
01/19 Calgary, AB – Big Winter Classic
01/20 Regina, SK – The Exchange
01/21 Saskatoon, SK – Louis'
02/04 Edmonton, AB – Shaw Conference Centre
03/31 Toronto, ON – Lee's Palace
04/04 London, ON – Rum Runner's
04/05 Ottawa, ON – Bronson Centre
04/06 Montreal, QC – Petit Campus
04/07 Kitchener, ON – Centre In The Square
04/28 Victoria, BC – Sugar Nightclub
04/29 Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theatre
It marks the full-length follow-up to 2013's hawaiii, though the band also delivered a remix EP back in 2014. The latest batch of songs was recorded in Vancouver with producer Cayne McKenzie of We Are the City — who helped keep everything sounding smooth, despite the sessions getting interrupted by huge life event's like the birth of children and extended honeymoons.
"As Long as Your Eyes Are Wide is a return to how Tyler [Bancroft] and I used to make music," Said the Whale's Ben Worcester said in a statement. "Which is just experimenting with anything and everything. We started out using Casio keyboards and drumbeats on our computers, and then we turned into a rock band. This is a return to being free to make anything."
But despite the opportunity for freewheeling experimentation, the resulting record remains a songwriting-driven album, propelled by "introspective lyrics" and "arresting, alchemical group harmonies."
"This is our most personal, earnest record for sure," Bancroft added. "Even the upbeat songs are lamenting and sad."
An introduction to the new material is expected in the new year, with the arrival of a lead single slated to drop in January. Eager fans can pick up tickets to see the band on an upcoming run of shows before the new single drops, though. Tickets for the dates listed below go on sale this Friday (December 16).
Tour dates:
01/19 Calgary, AB – Big Winter Classic
01/20 Regina, SK – The Exchange
01/21 Saskatoon, SK – Louis'
02/04 Edmonton, AB – Shaw Conference Centre
03/31 Toronto, ON – Lee's Palace
04/04 London, ON – Rum Runner's
04/05 Ottawa, ON – Bronson Centre
04/06 Montreal, QC – Petit Campus
04/07 Kitchener, ON – Centre In The Square
04/28 Victoria, BC – Sugar Nightclub
04/29 Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theatre