Whales In Cubicles – “Death In The Evening”

Whales in Cubicles are a London based band who have been building up a lot of momentum and getting some well deserved attention ahead of the release of their debut album, “Death In The Evening. Although it has to be said the name alone is something that will at least attract some puzzled enquiries!

“Yesterday’s News” opens up the album with a hard to ignore rocker. It seems to combine a lot of influences but has an almost British indie mixed with Nirvana feel to it. We also see this on “Golden Medal” which has that same type of ‘grunge’ feel but this time we are talking more of a feedback heavy sound a la Mudhoney but still with that melodic undertone.

The first single from the album is “All The Pretty Flowers” and rightly so, it’s a great melodic song. It builds patiently and has the feel of a live favourite where eventually the crowd will take over singing and continue long after the band have stopped playing. “Disappear” moves from an acoustic opening to a huge rock sound and again has the feel of a future single. Although it will face tough competition from “Nowhere Flag” which is probably the song with the greatest commercial ‘hit’ feel about it. This time they allow the melody to dominate the sound and over power the normal, more down beat feel.

The band also show an important ability to slow things down and show a more sensitive side. “We Never Win” has a more restrained opening before punctuating the rest of the song with musical outbursts of emotion. Whilst “Across America” shows the slower build up and has the same epic interludes but this time it’s the impressive voice of the singer which really hits home.

It all concludes with the eight minute epic, “Find Your Way” which has a truly intense sound. It opens smoothly, but again we soon see the band deliver a clash of distorted sounds and feedback.

There can be no denying the fact that this album casts more than a cursory glance at the grunge era. The structure of distorted guitars and feedback to disguise the underlying melody of the song is apparent on many of the tracks. It will certainly appeal to fans, both old and new, of that style and genre. It is an intense album which is brimming with passion. Ironically, the admittedly strange name, is somehow appropriate as there is a large amount of noise and passion squeezed into each of the songs.