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JFH Music Review



Secret & Whisper
Great White Whale



Artist Info: Discography
Album length: 12 tracks: 42 minutes, 5 seconds
Street Date: February 12, 2008


Many great bands in the Christian market have been found in Canada. It seems that sometimes the best music can come from our neighbor to the north, and with native rockers Secret & Whisper getting signed to Tooth & Nail, they're out to prove that more great things can come from there. With their debut, Great White Whale, Secret & Whisper seems to have found a sound that borrows from others, yet may have enough originality to serve as their own.

The disc kicks off with a haunting intro, bizarrely titled "Blonde Monster." From that beginning, you'll realize you're in for an interesting ride. Some lyrics are quite cryptic, such as the heavy rock track "Spider Besider." Other tracks have a simple, yet poignant message to them, such as "The Actress," which talks of how we can get so lost in a film, from the impending drama. Intriguing sounds and effects lace all the way through the album, evident on the edgier rock tracks, such as "XOXOXO" (which serves as the key highlight of the album) and the soothing rock feel of "Looming Moon," and those tracks really give you a sense of what the band was seemingly going for with this record: a sense of mystery. Bordering on metalcore in spots, the band gives a new spin to the average rock we tend to get from Tooth & Nail, mixing in a haunting vocal by lead singer Charles Furny that just sucks you in from the very beginning.

The vocals may tend to cause distraction when trying to make out all the lyrics, but overall they work with the sound that S&W has achieved on this debut album. Other highlights on the record include the brutal-sounding "Attacker," the album's closer "Great White Whale" (which serves as a quasi-rock ballad), and the slow, passionate feeling of "Werewolves," which includes the thought-provoking line "With legs too weak to carry on, we fall apart like falling stars." For a band just starting out, this is an impressive and captivating debut. Secret & Whisper are definitely one band to keep an eye on as they start to make a name for themselves with Great White Whale.

- Reviewed: 2/10/08, by Justin Mabee of Jesusfreakhideout.com



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JFH Staff's Second Opinion



After an initial listen of Secret & Whisper's debut Great White Whale, a lot of other band names come to mind as "they sound like this." In this list I find Anberlin, Thrice, Taking Back Sunday, Sullivan, and maybe even a little Mae (as some of the tracks sound almost "magical" at times, such as the intro "Blonde Monster"). While retaining the pop punk/emo sound throughout most of the album, Secret & Whisper even manage to slip in a little hardcore, as in the final track "Great White Whale." It sorta comes out of nowhere, and almost doesn't fit, but seeing as how it's done rather well, and there are traces of it in previous songs like "Spider Besider," it actually does work for them in the end. It may be a bold statement, but Great White Whale could be the Cities of 2008. - Scott Fryberger

 

CD

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. Record Label: Tooth & Nail Records
. Album length: 12 tracks: 42 minutes, 5 seconds
. Street Date: February 12, 2008
. Buy It: Amazon.com

  1. Blonde Monster
  2. You Are Familiar
  3. Vanishings
  4. XOXOXO
  5. The Actress
  6. Spider Besider
  7. Looming Moon
  8. Attacker
  9. Anchors
  10. Werewolves
  11. Lovers
  12. Great White Whale
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