The debut CD by Edmonton, Alberta's The Whitsundays would have made my "Best of 2007" list if it had been released a month sooner. I have been listening to the reissue of Pink Floyd's "Piper At the Gates of Dawn" and The Whitsunday's debut CD sounds like it could have been recorded right around the same time period. Main-man, Paul Arnusch perfectly captures the sound of the late 60's British bands, from The Zombies to Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd and The Kinks. Most of the tracks are somewhat low-key with textured vocal harmonies and reverbed guitar and organ. The only exception to this is "Antisocial" which is alt-rock tune with some great slashing guitar work. The track "Sorry James" captures the mood of the majority of the disc. This isn't to say that the disc is one-dimensional as each track brings out a different facet of the late 60's era of music - check out the Beach Boys style harmonies on "It Must Be Me" and the disc ends with an instrumental piano-driven piece entitled "Whitsunday Morning Theme."

The Whitsunday's CD will be released on January 22, 2008 on Friendly Fire Recordings.

Links:
The Whitsundays' MySpace Page