Whales
- Justin
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 12 hours ago
The Albums:
Dry Jack - Whale City (1979) - Kansas City, Missouri, US - Jazz Fusion
The Love Songs - The Loneliest Whale (2019) - Oakland, California, US - Punk Rock
Introduction:
Shown above are two completely unrelated albums from different bands, both featuring whales on their covers. Pictured on the left is Whale City, the 1979 album by New York City jazz fusion group Dry Jack, while pictured on the right is The Loneliest Whale, the 2019 album by Oakland, California punk rock band The Love Songs. Separated by more than four decades and connected solely through artistic vision, the whale-themed illustrations on these album covers were so striking that I couldn't help but delve deeper. Both of these albums were new to me and I was delighted to find a reissued CD of Whale City, though the high shipping costs to Australia led me to settle for a digital version of The Loneliest Whale. Here's what I thought:
Fun Fact:
Whales are the loudest animals on Earth, producing sounds up to 230dB, louder than a jet engine. Many of their calls are infrasonic, too low for humans to hear, but they can travel vast distances underwater, allowing whales to communicate over hundreds of kilometres.
Recording Studio: Secret Sound Studios, NYC
Record Label: Inner City Records
Producer: Dry Jack
Engineer: Michael Barry, Jason Corsaro
Album Cover Illustration: Michael Flanagan
Chuck Lamb: Acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, electric piano, Mini-Moog, clavinet
Rod Fleeman: Electric guitar
Rich Lamb: Electric bass
Jon Margolis: Drums, percussion
Michael Flanagan’s striking album cover for Whale City, featuring vibrant whales beneath smokestacks, blends beauty and melancholy in a way that immediately catches the eye. Captivated by the artwork, I felt compelled to see if the music could capture the same emotional depth and contrast.
Initially, I was let down—not by the quality, but by my expectation of emotional depth reflecting the cover. Instead, the album leaned into dynamic, high-energy jazz fusion. As a fan of the genre, I appreciated its skillful craftsmanship, even if it lacked the contrast I was hoping for—until the closing track, Whale City.
Composed by Chuck Lamb, this 12-minute piece brought the album art to life. With whale sounds and a profound emotional shift, the music conjured vivid images of whales rising from the ocean toward a polluted cityscape. Alternating between vitality and sadness, this track embodied the depth I’d been searching for and became the album’s standout moment.
Recording Studio: Nu-Tone Studios, Pittsburg, CA
Record Label: Blonde Medicine, LLC
Recorded By: Ben Hirschfield
Mastered By: Dan Randall
Album Cover Illustration: Glenn Smith
Frank Piegaro: Guitar
Brad Roberts: Drums
Craig Billmeier: Vocals, guitar
Salem Kamalay: Bass
Described on their Bandcamp page as "hair metal without the hair or the metal," newcomers to The Love Songs might easily mistake the band for something other than a punk rock band. The name itself evokes thoughts of power pop, while the beautifully illustrated album cover calls to mind a children's storybook. However, their identity becomes clearer upon seeing the band photos inside the inner sleeve. The live shots portray a performance charged with intense energy. Meanwhile, a promo shot shows one of the band members sporting a Neurosis t-shirt, offering further insight into their musical influences.
The cover illustration, by Glenn Smith, is vibrant and intricate, blending gold lettering with blue and green tones of a whale in rippling water. Examining a larger version of the beautiful cover art unveils even more intricate details - a colony of barnacles adorning the whale’s head, and a hidden shipwreck. This serves as a great example of how vinyl pressings often excel over other formats when it comes to showcasing rich, intricate and detailed artwork. Even as a dedicated CD collector, I can't deny this advantage. Though the whale's "loneliness" didn’t fully capture a sense of solitude, the artwork's beauty and captivating details were enough to draw me in and inspire me to explore the album.
Before listening, I came across a 2005 article describing The Love Songs’ clever and unpredictable style. Their tracks seamlessly shift between genres, from ballads to punk chaos and even tangos, all while staying catchy and loaded with hooks. This description proved accurate, even 15 years later.
Take 5-Sided Die, for example—a track that transitions from a guitar solo to a piano melody reminiscent of '90s alt-rock. Then there’s BonneVicci Rides Again, blending Greek folk dance with punk energy. These songs showcase the band’s adventurous approach, making them stand out in the punk scene.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Loneliest Whale, their seventh and seemingly final album. Since emerging in the late '90s, their catalogue—like many punk bands—includes demo tapes, seven-inch singles, and split EPs. However, this is their only studio album with such striking cover art, which led me to explore modern punk beyond my usual late-'70s favourites.
The album is available on Bandcamp, and vinyl fans can snag the limited "tumultuous ocean" pressing. As a CD collector, fancy vinyl pressings aren’t my thing, but I appreciate the creativity behind them.
Honourable Mentions:
Whales are a surprisingly popular theme for album covers across all genres. I was particularly struck by how many modern extreme metal bands have embraced this imagery. Here are a few other whale-themed album covers that caught my attention:
Dishonourable Mentions:
The first is a 1996 EP from a Canadian punk band, a good example of questionable design choices. The second, a 2024 limited cassette release by Burnt Bakarak, dives into instrumental hip-hop—well beyond my usual taste, but too odd to ignore.
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