Monday 16 March 2009

things that are cooler than me: whitest boy alive

Monday 16 March 2009



I do not like music reviews but I will try to do one. I also do not like the fact that this post will probably be taken down in ten seconds so I'll make sure I do not put much effort into it.

So the new album from the impeccably undefinable kinda-electronic German band, The Whitest Boy Alive, has been out for a couple of weeks now. The first thing that struck me was how their sound has shifted quite distinctly from lazy, jazz-poppy tunes with a hint of rock and a hint of electronics to full blown, live-band indie-disco.

This is the flavour of their first album, Dreams, from 2006. Rainy day guitar riffs with a bossa nova flavour and the slight twang of electronica in the background...

The Whitest Boy Alive - Golden Cage

Rules, the new album, is a lot more of the same laid-back, softly-spoken jazz pop but so much creamier, funkier, jazzier. It's a smooth mix of modern electronics and old school lounge jazz. You can picture the flow of uber cool people casually traversing a Scandinavian club's basement as Norwegian singer Erland Øye oozes out his signature chilled vocals. It's so buried in its own groove that it sometimes washes over you.

The Whitest Boy Alive - High on The Heels

The Whitest Boy Alive - Courage

The Whitest Boy Alive - Intentions

From the melancholy and bluesy, Intentions, to the calm jam, Courage, to the twitching dance floor orientated, High on the Heels, every song on the album is so tight and so much fucking cooler than the twenty-first century. Some of the best albums are the ones that don't even try.

How can I get to be as cool as Erland and Whitest Boy? Need suggestions, stat.

1 comment:

Dom Terrace said...

Your ten seconds are up
:)

nice