Or, The Whale

少年時代JamieT 曾是一支Punk Rock樂團的低音結他手，然而他彈奏的是一支Acoustic Bass；他既是唱作歌手，也是睡房電音制作人；他受哥哥的感染而聽Drum‘n’ Bass，從The Clash到Rancid都是對他影響深遠的Punk Rock樂團，Beastie Boys的Hip Hop音樂又帶給他莫大的啟蒙；他玩音樂之余也會選曲制作Mix Tape。來自倫敦南部、現年廿一歲的Jamie T的音樂，他就是一位這樣有趣的英倫音樂才子。 　　在首張專輯Panic Prevention內，聆聽他將Punk、Reggae、Hip Hop、Folk進行Mix-Mash(引用Jamie之用語)的折衷主義聲音，也許會有人將他與美國音樂人Beck早年的DIY作品相提并論，但最大回異，是Jamie T的音樂是來得「很英倫」，帶著濃烈的倫敦Urban氣味。 　　正如在Jamie T身上乃賦予著深厚的Reggae音樂素質而來，但所師承卻是源自英倫Punk樂教父團The Clash的Punk Reggae，而多於正宗牙買加Reggae音樂的基因，加上他濃濃的英國口音，也是何解他被形容為The Clash已故主將Joe Strummer和當代倫敦MC兼制作人The Streets的混合體。 　　單聽Jamie T的幾首主打單曲，已是那么各異其趣。最先在其自家廠牌Pacemaker Recordings旗下發表的處男單曲Salvador，Punk-Funk得猶如The Clash遇上Happy Mondays，即是點點Punk加點點Funk加點點靡爛，背後的影響卻是Squeeze的Cool For Cats和Them的Baby, Please Don’t Go這兩曲；第二張單曲Sheila的輕輕松松Ragga加Hip Hop，第三張單曲If You Got The Money由草根Reggae變成Punk-Pop，而最新單曲Calm Down Dearest則流露出他動人旋律化的一面。 　　還不夠多元化嗎？Brand New Bass Guitar的Acoustic藍調民歌，Back In The Game 的Acousic Folk Rock，都甚有Jamie的另一音樂英雄Billy Bragg之自彈自唱風范；Reggae遇上Hip House有So Lonely Was The Ballad；Pacemaker是很The Clash的Punk歌；在Ike & Tina里他又玩起Drum ‘n’ Bass節拍來；碟末的Dubby歌曲Alicia Quays，因為他原先試圖向一首R&B天后Alicia Keyes的歌曲之鋼琴部分取材而命名。 　　在Panic Prevention內，打造出是其混種的意義，把他喜歡的音樂素材全盤堆放在一起。不要被唱片封面上的「立立亂」房間嚇怕，Jamie T的音樂，是能夠達至紊而不亂的地步。 Voices everywhere, caught again in the devil’s snare,” belts lead vocalist and guitarist Alex Robins of San Francisco-based Or, the Whale on the second song of the band’s newest album. The song, “Datura,” is a rollicking ode to the hallucinogenic properties of jimson weed, but could just as easily be a description of the band itself. The soaring vocal harmonies and Neil Young-inspired guitar riffs found on Or, the Whale’s self-titled sophomore album yield a fiendishly potent listening experience, which may even provoke your own hallucinations. On the heels of 2007’s Light Poles and Pines (which featured the band’s debut single “Call and Response” and helped earn them a 2008 Hollywood Music Award for Best Americana/Roots Artist as well as a coveted spot on Radio & Records Top 100 Americana Artists of 2008), Or, the Whale cannot so easily be pinned down. Tracks like “Black Rabbit,” which features a gale-force chorus above electric feedback and pounding drums, play out as if in an effort to prove just how hard the band can rock. At other times, as on “Never Coming Out”—a paranoid and agoraphobic rail ride that explodes into a final a capella starburst—Or, the Whale showcases their ability to present a reflective, stripped-down arrangement (no small feat for a band with seven members). Likewise, the creeping “Keep Me Up” shows how Led Zeppelin’s “No Quarter” might sound if re-imagined through the mournful wail of pedal steel. Like any good San Francisco band, Or, the Whale partially owes its inception to the online bulletin board service Craigslist; at one point, Robins and Matt Sartain (guitar and vocals) posted an ad titled “Wanna Form a Sweet Country Rock Band?” and recruited fellow vocalist Lindsay Garfield from a listing she had written looking for a guitar player. From there, the three set about enlisting bandmates Julie Ann Thomasson on keyboards and vocals, Justin Fantl on bass, Jesse Hunt on drums, and later Tim Marcus on pedal steel guitar.