Sunday, May 4, 2014

“We Never Win” by Whales in Cubicles - A Song Review

     Whales in Cubicles re-released “We Never Win” a few months ago. And with it came the re-questioning of why this isn’t in our personal Top Ten Songs released since 2000. To be clear, this is a very strong song and it is in our playlist rotation. Still, it is like a cooking recipe that includes a collection of highly favored ingredients that are combined in desirable proportions to yield a dish that is “only” very good.
      What are the "highly favored ingredients?" Some significant ones are:
1. A great band name – we love the mental image of a whale having some reason to be in an office cubicle.
2. The song is anthemic:
                                          "We never win, we never win, we never win,
                                          We always step aside and let them take over."
3. A segment with shoegaze guitar and background vocals (starting at 1:38).
4. Periodic driving rock guitar, such as at 2:39.
5. Some band chants.
6. A strong finish leading to a trailing edge – we love the vocal strength leading to the fading guitar.
     Admittedly, the lyrics are repetitive and that’s usually a negative. However, the repetition works in this song.

     Whales in Cubicles is a London band comprised of Stef Bernardi, Alex Pyper, Matt Banham and Fred Fuller.
     "We Will Win" by Whales in Cubicles

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