Said the Whale

'hawaiii' (album stream)

BY Alex HudsonPublished Sep 9, 2013

Said the Whale made us laugh with their parody of "The Fox," but now the Vancouver pop-rock outfit are back to serious music-making. Their wilfully misspelled album hawaiii is out on September 17 through Hidden Pony, and it's available to stream ahead of time.

The album was recorded over a six-month period, with the band's own Tyler Bancroft acting as co-producer along with returning collaborator Tom Dobrzanski (We Are the City, the Zolas). The results were mixed by Gus Van Go and Werner F (Rah Rah, the Stills).

After last year's ambitious Little Mountain, the new album finds Said the Whale embracing more brazenly poppy sounds, with tracks like "Mother," "I Love You" and "On the Ropes" boasting sunny hooks and vocal harmonies aplenty. The band also take some darker, more experimental turns; "I Could Smoke" sports a curiously shape-shifting arrangement and self-destructive lyrics, while "Helpless Son" is a mournful ballad for an aging parent.

See Said the Whale's upcoming North American tour schedule here, and listen to the album below.

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