The White Ravens - Saddle Up The Whales

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The White Ravens – Saddle Up The Whales
2012, The White Ravens
Brother and sister songwriting team Will and Amy Bennettbegan their band, The White Ravens, on Christmas Day, 2004.  Now 19 and 20, respectively, The Bennetts arecarving out an interesting niche in the Indie rock scene in Michigan.  Terming their sound “indie pop geek cabaretrock”, The White Ravens are influenced by a cacophony of sounds from the worldsof rock, classical, Broadway, folk and modern Indie rock.  Will Bennett (keys, guitar) is the composer,and Amy Bennett (vocals, bass) is the lyricist. It’s a dynamic combination that is responsible for a wonderful tuneful,effervescent pop/rock sound.  On theirthird album, Saddle Up The Whales,The White Ravens seem to have finally come into their own.
The opening track, “Saddle Up The Whales” is vibrant;joyous; a little bit messy and a whole lot of fun.  Rather than the cynicism so common in modernpopular music, The White Ravens glory in a sort of youthful glee.  The result is a sound that is complex, butdriven by a singular pop sensibility that gets under your skin and makes youwant to get up and dance. “Rube Goldberg Machine” features the same sort ofsimple joy, wrapped up in an incredibly complex and varying arrangement.  Will Bennett shows his compositional skillsrun somewhere between those of the Beatles and Ben Folds, blending rock, popand classical components into an amazingly cogent bit of writing.  Amy Bennett backs it all up with lyrics thatare wonderfully twisted and full of the simply joy of making music.
“Informational Video” takes a disco beat and turns it into acomplex, layered pop song.  You’ll wantto dance and sing along.  “Conspiracy” isa paranoia-filled nightmare for the relationship-phobic in the crowd.  There is a distinct cabaret-pop feel to thistune, and Amy Bennett perfectly balances an edge of sultry songstress withquirk and humor.  The White Ravens offerup a change of pace with “Rain Song”. Sounding at first like a ballad, “Rain Song” is quirky and pensive, butcarries a melody that is beautiful and sweet. Amy Bennett handles this juxtaposition with a surprising grace.  “Spaaace” is a catchy piano-driven rockerfull of classical themes and a fearful penchant for space travel.  The song is infectiously off-kilter; the sortyou return to again and again. 
“Mechanical Whales” starts out with a dark cloud hangingover it, brought on by the delicious minor key piano opening.  This turns into an art-rock extravaganza thatis more about sound and structure than anything else.  The result is stark and full of asurprisingly twisted beauty.  “World’sSmallest Piece Of Pasta” has more of a chic-dance rock aesthetic.  The quirk factor here is quite high, and thesong is an entertaining if surreal listen. “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” commemorates the world’s eighth continent,a large collection of garbage afloat in the Pacific Ocean.  This tune has great comedic potential, butThe White Ravens find a gentler path through the song.  “Arlene’s Grocery” is full of wonderfullyzany lyrics.  The arrangement matches thefeel but is complex and well-developed. “We’re Glad You’re Here” is a Beatles-esque musical exploration full oflayered sounds ala Phil Specter.  It’s anice sonic segue way into the closing track, a boogie-woogie take on “Bye ByeBlackbird”.  Will Bennett gets to showoff his piano prowess here in unvarnished terms, and Amy Bennett shows depthand grace in her handling of the vocal line. 
The White Ravens keep you on your toes and ultimately charmyour socks off on Saddle Up The Whales.  The musical depth and breadth of what theyare doing here before legal drinking age speaks to a pair of distinctivemusical talents, and a special chemistry that simply doesn’t come along everyday.  SaddleUp The Whales has a kitschy feel at times, but it’s all in good fun; a funso infectious you can’t help but join in.
Rating: 4.5 Stars(Out of 5)
Learn more at www.thewhiteravens.com.