I kind of never got around to posting about this album because, I dunno, it seemed to do pretty well on radio and I kind of figured it didn’t need “help” (like that’s what blogging is all about – ha!)

Then, just out of curiousity I searched my Google Reader archive for posts about Whitest Boy Alive’s latest album “Rules” and was somewhat surprised to find that, beyond a vague reference on PbroA there seems to have been very little coverage about the album. More than anything, I’m kind of curious – did this album not strike a chord with anyone else?

See, I dig this album – a lot, actually. If anything, it’s the pairing of an old funk aesthetic with a new electro-inspired sound. It’s the space that sits between the sparseness of four instruments and nothing else. It’s the realness of four guys in a room (tracked live with no overdubs, if you believe the PR). It’s also the damn good, simple and to-the-point songwriting that does the job with minimal fuss and maximum effect.

This is definitely a people’s album – it’s not a chin-stroker. “Rules” contains simple songs of love and life, sung simply (almost naively at times) by guitarist/singer Erlend Øye, and brought to life by band playing simple music to twitch your bum to, in amidst all that simplicity lies the key to the album’s excellence – it’s a masterful demonstration of restraint of the highest order. There’s so much they could have done but didn’t – and they’ve saved the album in the process. The space that you hear in the reverb after each drum hit could have been drowned out by countless elements of overdubbed studio trickery and a bombastic mix, but WBA have held to the KISS principle. It works wonderfully.

What did you think of the album? Did I miss something, or did I get lured in by the schmaltz? Have you heard it all before? Did it just not float your boat?

“Rules” is out now (aaaages ago) and comes highly recommended!

Listen

• Island (mp3)