One of the best reasons someone might have for living in Seattle, WA is the mark this city has made in the world of music. That tradition is alive and well as all you need to do is go out to one of our many small, local, but historic venues to discover new music for whatever mood you find yourself in. The vibrant music scene here forces one to stretch the limits of their own preferences and experiment with new sonic tastes. (I can’t listen to death metal, black metal, and anarcho-punk all the time!) In the spirit of branching out, I would like to introduce you to White Shark Cafe who released their debut EP, Dead Endo recently. Dead Endo has a new flavor that somehow walks the line between nostalgia and that feeling you get when you hear something new. Listening to the album a few times is necessary if they are to be fully appreciated since there is a subtext to the entire album which is as pervasive in the music as it is illuding.
White Shark Cafe is comprised of four members: Brian Salvage on vocals and guitar, Adam Taniguchi on guitar, Bill Jennings on bass and vocals, and Ricky Penalba on drums. If you google ‘white shark cafe’, you will get a number of articles about actual great white sharks, and a spot somewhere between the coast of California and Hawaii, where large numbers of white sharks congregate. The spot was previously thought to be an ocean desert, devoid of large life forms; this is the band’s namesake.
(On the surface, it looks like the only thing these guys have in common with the actual white shark cafe is the word ‘cafe’.)
Clear influences of Pink Floyd and The Beatles can be heard. There is also a very Black Sabbath moment in the song Bite the Hand where Salvage channels a young Ozzy Osbourne. However, there is a very progressive and experimental feel to their sound that makes it unique and fresh. The music is chill, pure, and comforting, but also slightly trepidacious in how it emerges and develops. To sum it up in one sentence, Dead Endo sounds like a sunset on the last day of a great vacation.
It is good to know that White Shark Cafe will not rest on their laurels; I have been informed that they have gone back into the studio to record their next EP which has a working title of Feel the Echo. Check them out on Amazon, iTunes, and Bandcamp. You can also see them live on August 11th, 2019 at the Central Saloon in Seattle with the Shimmertraps.
