The Whitsundays

Residue from 60s Spy movies cling to The Whitsundays debut album, what with electric organ solos.

	January 9, 2008

 

Vocals and guitars echo from far-off hallways, reclaiming moments of psychedelia. Warped strings and a female voice repeating GO on the track “Already Gone” makes one feel that they’re in an acid washed dance marathon. Pop in the most complicated sense, The Whitsundays do not generalize the sound of the 60s, but instead distort and update. Rhythm drops to a crawl on “Bring it On Home,” where ‘doowhas’ come in dreamlike stereo and a saxophone swoops in to complete the illusion. Quickly though that illusion can dissolve into Beach Boy’s “Pet Sounds” or that shoegaze sound that seems to be easy to emulate, but difficult to exact. Fortunately for The Whitsundays, they have delved into the psychedelic, headfirst, making a splash, instead of a splatter.

 

By Nathan Solis