Whistler - Happiness

  by David McNamee

published: 17 / 12 / 2001

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Review

The two worst records ever made: Angelica – ‘Teenage Girl Crush’, Whistler – ‘If I Give You A Smile’. Not necessarily in that order. Whistler are the band that Black Box Recorder were put on this Earth to destroy. Wax pine folk, Starbucks-flavoured expresso pop. Luckily their Belle & Sebastian tweeness is derailed by a healthy cynicism. Singer girl, when you deduct the irritable sixth form inflections, actually breathes a gorgeous deadpan. Which, whilst not quite being the devastating moth-winged thing of beauty imparted by the likes of Queen Nixey, establishes her vocal delivery as the most potent and moving instrument at Whistler’s disposal. Last year’s lovely ‘Intermission’ EP – covers of artists ranging from Dusty Springfield to Kurt Cobain – hinted at the potential Whistler could acquire with a bit of effort. Imagine what they’d be like with proper tunes! And it would seem they’ve learnt a thing or two, ‘Happiness’ as a tragic, sneering, softly-spoken acoustic lament is a somewhat more focused accomplishment on the blueprint suggested by their bit-samey debut album. Their crucial advantage over their peers is that while Belle & Seb remain annoyingly smug, Whistler with the same ingredients actually come across sounding imperiously cool. More like this please.

Track Listing:-

1 Happiness
2 Even less
3 Small world