Vulture Whale mixes influences from Alabama, New York and beyond

Although Vulture Whale hails from Alabama, they don’t try writing southern-twinged country. According to their interview with Gold Mine, it’s because they don’t want to pretend. To write that kind of music, they figure one has to wear the cowboy boots. And get them dusty.
“We wear Adidas,” frontman Wes McDonald concluded.

Instead, Vulture Whale said it gets its influences from all over the place–from their home state, as well as the northeast. Sounds get onto their tapes that sound reminiscent of not only Lynyrd Skynyrd, but also of Lou Reed, The Strokes and The Talking Heads. According to Wes McDonald, where a band comes from is not important. The sound itself is only what’s important.

“I don’t care why the person wrote it, or what drugs he was on, or what studio he recorded it in, or if he’s gay or not, or whether he was born on the Bayou or on the Upper East Side,” McDonald said.

The result of all the varied influences is a concotion of gritty guitar work, fun and groovy bass lines, and honest, complex lyrics. All of this makes Vulture Whale a compelling listen.

Creating and sculpting their sound has been a process much like moving into a new house, McDonald noted in the Gold Mine interview. While their first album was an experiment–they were still trying to figure out what light switches went to what lights in the new house–their second album was like installing a new deck on said house. They became more confident in their new-found sound.

The band is currently set to release a new album in February, which McDonald described as follows:

“The next record, we’re gonna put in a swimming pool and a flag pole. A real cloud tickler.”

Check out Vulture Whale’s MySpace page for more info. And check out the video announcement below: