ALBUM REVIEW:The Bleed Whites - The Bleed Whites

There’s no question that when someone mentions indie rock that they’re immediately bombarded with all the tiny sub-genres that fit into what most would call a vague term – this is what the Bleed Whites self titled debut is; an attempt to grab all these tiny ideas, and images of what is, and what might be and capture them into one sloppy image. So, who are the Bleed Whites? Well here’s what we know about the Bleed Whites, the bands band camp page informs us that: Bruce Lee sings and plays the guitar, Abe Lincoln plays the drums, and Winston Churchill backs them up on Bass and now I’m Chuck Norris and I’ll be doing your review . As anonymous as these Toronto natives might be, their self titled album is anything but alien and comes off as a close to home and intimate record.

The opener “Eat the Spurs” rolls in punching with emotional vocals and spastic acoustic guitar work; a pure and honest indie rock gem about disheartening neglect and the search for greater romance, but only to be followed by the “full of yourself” lo-fi hard rock track “Poison” sounding like something nasty, something nasty you might hear on White Blood Cells. Because all the sound and production bending takes place during the first 7 minutes of the album, the Bleed Whites magic begins to fade away, mostly on the foggy jam session “Okay, go. No wait, stop. Really though, stop” a song with no real flaws just a lack of cohesive flow with the rest of the album.

The true spotlight in this album is the great chemistry this trio shows with their blend of moody yet haunting bass lines, drone-like escalating drums, and fuzzy guitar play with the occasional unrelenting solo that takes a hold of your neck and ceases to let go. Given the sounds that exhale from the bass, and just how punchy the drums all play in with the lo-fi production you can sometimes get a glimpse of their precursors in the Pixies.

With just how catchy and powerful the garage rock and surf rock is on this album there’s also lack of consistency with the folk songs, which come in with a fragment of the gravity that their contemporaries bring and serve as mostly interludes.

The Bleed Whites vocalist does not possess the quality of modesty, perhaps, in production there’s a lingering sense of hiding, even so while addressing his audience there is no sense of restraint. Much of the charm comes from his ability to blend his lyrics in whichever atmosphere he’s given. This album is mostly about a heart torn individual and his search for a remedy to his unhappiness. Wherever our protagonist goes he’s met with disappointment and neglect --in “Bone Marrow” he goes on to recite his blight:“I was tired when I lost faith/expectations with regards to our cage/ let’s take a trip from out here / and if I die at least I tried.” The naiveté, uncertain direction and uncontrolled emotions echo memories of that very first heart-breaker; ideas and thoughts embedded in our singer’s voice.

Given the amount of power and emotion in these songs there is still plenty left to be filled in these tracks. Even so, just when you think the atmosphere is beginning to fade you find yourself bobbing your head to the next song. That’s just how this album reconciles; even then they leave little hints of novitiate (like leaving you’re metronome on after an interlude) which is by all means fine because it’s such a small detail when your band consist of Jackie Chan, Abe Lincoln and Winston Churchill.

Overall: Strong 8

You can check out their band camp here