Freelance Whales

Lately, I have been discovering a lot of music that uses slightly more unusual instruments in fun ways. I think this is a trend we will be seeing more of in the future, as more and more people are getting tired of the traditional rock band consisting of four men, with one drummer, one bass player, a singer who plays quitar, and another guitarist, all of whom wear band t-shirts, dirty jeans, chuck taylors, and maybe a leather jacket or two. The instrument that Freelance Whales uses that I find so fun is a xylophone, but from what I read their collection of fun instruments is growing to include instruments such as Japanese flutes and possibly someday, a pipe organ.

I believe that the singer sounds like a slightly more androgynous version of the singer from The Format, but others have likened his voice to Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, which I can definitely hear. The band's sound reminds me a bit of The Postal Service, though their sound is not quite as polished.

I personally think the best songs on their album is Generator First Floor, Generator Second Floor, Hannah, and Starring. Starring has super fun instrumentals (and definitely reminds me of Postal Service). Their album "Weathervanes" is the type of album that constantly gives you new favorites though, depending on your mood. As I write this I am listening to the album, and have found several more songs that I am enjoying immensely, such as Broken Horse and We Could Be Friends.

My favorite part about this band is their instrumentals, but if you choose to focus on the lyrics, there are some interesting stories going on in the album. The lyrics are based off a combination of the singer's childhood memories and dream journaling. By age six, the singer began to make room in his house for the ghost of a young girl he sensed living in his house, a detail he works into the album.

This is a super fun band, and I hope you take the time to listen to some of their music. To hear some examples of their work, check out the videos below:









-Melissa