Despite hailing from landlocked Austin, Whalers like a lot of nautical imagery, from the band name to album and song titles. The particularly beachy sounds of surf rock sit at the core of the band too, but they mix that twang with darker, edgier strains. Whalers’ guitar interplay takes influence from the Strokes and the Walkmen, with frontman Gus Smalley bellowing over the racket the band kicks up. Though their debut album, Submarine Sun, came out digitally in the spring, Whalers are celebrating the LP’s vinyl release with a show tonight at Stubb’s (inside) with Nic Armstrong. As a preview, we’re dipping into Whalers’ Studio 1A performance to give you a sense of the dynamism this band brings to the live setting. “Battleships” surfs on a raucous beat before boiling over into the kind of epic finale that every garage band would be jealous of.
Whalers: “Battleships”
