Whales In Cubicles - We Never Win

Single review by KevW

This article also appears on http://www.soundsxp.com

This debut single from Anglo-Italians Whales In Cubicles seems a bit topsy-turvy. There may have been several tracks streaming online for a few months now, but surely any band would aim for their first proper release to make a dent upon impact, to be a statement that announces their arrival and leaves a lasting impression, rather than to just blend unassumingly into the background.

It's with a little confusion that the quartet have chosen to assign this task to 'We Never Win', a nice enough piece of jerky, stammering indie that attempts the age-old task of being "a call-to-arms for the forgotten and downtrodden". It may have good intentions and the punchy chorus displays an anger that's all-too-real, yet compared to the thumping, hair-dryer-blast of rage we heard from them on free download 'Never And Ever' this is something of a damp squib.

Before we've had the chance to write this single off as a minor disappointment and hope for better next time, the thundering, quaking drums of B-side 'Across America' grab us by the throat and reel us back in. This is the kind of moody, commanding indie-rock that's constructed to form a crater upon collision, as it hand-picks some of the best bits from 90s alt-rock heroes like Pavement, Deus and Dinosaur Jr. It's the statement of intent they should have given top billing to, leaving 'We Never Win' to fill the role of being a pretty good little flip-side. Whales In Cubicles have the right tunes, but not necessarily in the right order.


We Never Win by Whales in Cubicles

Whales in Cubicles - ''Across America'' by Nadia Young & Lost Club

Whales In Cubicles' website

Buy the single.






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