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"The most beautiful place in the world is wherever you are at the time..."

Vulture Whale's bio, written by John Seay, touts the group as "the best American band pretending to be a British band influenced by American music since Guided By Voices."  This is partially because of their overall British invasion sound, more reminiscent of The Kinks and their descendants (The Jam, Pulp) than lo-fi hucksters, GBV.  More humorously, and not unlike GBV's Robert Pollard, Wes McDonald sings with an affected British accent. 

So this band is from Birmingham... Alabama?

Bamboo You, the group's latest EP is simply fun, fun, all the way through.  Yes, there are raw, guttural guitars and a rhythm section holding down beats that get the hips shaking of their own volition.  Yet, the British affectations lend themselves to a style of singing and playing around with words that couldn't be pulled off otherwise.  I mean, lyrics like "I'd like to do it but I'm still kind of new at it" just wouldn't work the same way in a southern accent.

The first track on their new EP, describes a night that was "aside from marriage and my children being born," the greatest night of his whole mother-f'ing life, setting the tone for the sort of tongue-in-cheek candor of the greater whole.  McDonald's British accent may even spontaneously self destruct in favor of his Southern roots when songs launch into particular rants such as at the end of "Plam! I Love You." 

The point of all this is not the style imposed on the music so much as how clear it is from track to track that these guys are having the time of their lives making this music.  The songs are catchy, scratchy, punchdrunk and raucous.  Good old fashioned Rock 'n' Roll. The question isn't so much Why is this band pretending they're British?  It's more Why not?  If the Rolling Stones could pretend they were from Mississippi or Alabama, why can't Vulture Whale play the role of being a band from blue collar England? 

Skybucket Records released physical copies of Bamboo You on Tuesday, January 19.  Vulture Whale will celebrate the EP's release with a show at Bottletree on Saturday, January 30th.  Glossary and Teen Getaway to open. 

Click here to go to Vulture Whale's website and to download Bamboo You for FREE.  Click here to buy tickets to the CD Release show.

Click on the links below to listen to two songs off of Bamboo You right now! 

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