The Whitest Boy Alive – Island
One of my top three favourite bands in the world are The Whitest Boy Alive and ever since hearing them for the first time after arriving on this rather large island of Australia two years ago, I have been wanting to see these guys live. With the announcement a couple of weeks ago of them making an Australian Tour in the new year and specifically to the Sydney Festival on Saturday 21st January 2012, I made it imperative to be one of the first ticket holders (thank you Pip :)). Incidentally, tickets sold out in 30 minutes!
The Whitest Boy Alive started as an electronic dance music project in 2003. It has slowly developed into a band without any programmed elements. The exciting Berlin based group consists of two Norwegians and two Germans. They are singer/guitarist Erlend Øye of Kings of Convenience, bassist Marcin Öz, drummer Sebastian Maschat, and Daniel Nentwig on Rhodes piano and Crumar (an italian synthesizer). The four talented musicians create amazingly energetic pop that bridges the gap between dance and rock, with influences from Talking Heads to Daft Punk, and an enigmatic live presence that is known for shaking dance floors around the world. It also sounds like there’s a new album on the way…
Over the next couple of months leading up to their gig, I shall be putting up many (if not all) of their tracks from their most excellent two albums ‘Dreams’ (from 2006) and ‘Rules’ (from 2009).
With the announcement of their Australian Tour, I have fittingly chosen ‘Island‘ as my first reviewed track of theirs. From the second album ‘Rules’, this is their closing 11th track beautifully led by some sequential keys, strings and percussion, all combined with epic alterations of speed and gently soft echoing vocals, resulting in a patient flow of brilliance. The cowbell is one of my highlights of this track; perfect use of a cowbell is what makes a great song. This is no exception. It is The Whitest Boy Alive’s longest track to date, at just over 7 minutes and it shows their true prowess in quality music making and jamming with such unique rhythmic timing. The sounds they create are what makes them a cut above the rest. That is why their Sydney show sold out so quickly!
Listen and drift away below:
beatscontinue 