Labels: self released
Review by: MH
The Pool Whales describe themselves as having a “twee-folk-pop” sound. There are three people in the band and they use guitars, ukulele, maracas, glockenspiel and even claves. I didn’t even know what claves were until I looked them up. A quick search on the internet brings back memories of being forced to use them in school during a Christmas Carol concert and banging those claves together for an out-of-tune and out-of-time rendition of “Jingle Bells”. Nothing Christmassy about this album thankfully. It sounds quite summery and like they probably sat around in a park playing the songs together. The male vocals are quite laid-back and there is a slight awkwardness to the music – it’s far from polished but that is not a problem for me. It’s very quirky and eccentric particularly lyrically. One song is about lizards – “The lizard can’t frown/It doesn’t have any lips”. It also reminds me of the film soundtrack to “Juno” with some of the offbeat love songs. Although highly twee, “I Just Wanna Hang Out With You” is a lovely little ditty. Whilst it is not the most consistent album ever, it’s quite an agreeable listen.