Heathrow

It's been a long time coming, but from the day that young British songwriter Drew Smith was taught his first chord by older brother Neil (who has spent time in such notable SF bands as Kingstreet and Kiss the Girl), there was really only ever going to be one outcome. It's your typical "older sibling with formal music training teaches younger sibling how to play guitar only to find younger sibling is a songwriting genius who himself discovers he still needs older sibling to help him put a band together and get his songs recorded" rock 'n' roll fairytale.



After hearing Drew's remarkable songs at a small open mic night, Neil insisted that they should form a band. Born and raised in England, the Smith brothers have called San Francisco home for more than 10 years. From the day they began playing together their relationship was one that occasionally struggled to contain the ambitions and opinions of the two musicians but which at the same time always found strength in it. Of course, two musicians rarely constitute a decent rock band, no matter how good they may be. In The Whitehalls's case former LA-based session drummer drummer Bill Shupp and fellow American, bass player Paul "John" Castro (formerly of Torn and Two Way Radio) proved to have the energy and passion for the songs (and an appropriate level of musical talent) to round out the line-up.



The afore-mentioned result of all this?: "Say It Like You Mean It", the band's debut full length release, 50 minutes-worth of superbly conceived Brit-rock (watch Drew wince when the term "Brit-pop" is thrown around) that finally answers the question "now that Oasis aren't any good anymore, who do I listen to?"



Everything that The Whitehalls's loyal San Francisco fanbase has been looking forward to is here, plus much, much more. From straight-ahead rockers a la The Foo Fighters ("New World Record") to Pink Floyd-esque epics ("Take Cover") the band covers all the bases. Political drama ("Cambodia" and "Good Friday") mixes with crowd-pleasing ballads ("Stars", which the band typically dedicate to "all the girls" at shows). The band even have a go at electronic music with the help of top Bay Area producer / engineer Jaimeson Durr (Bob Weir, Handsome Boy Modelling School, Train) on "Refugee Song". They're not afraid to wear the influence of a certain Gallagher brothers on their sleeve throughout the album but "Say It Like You Mean It" probably bears a closer resemblance to albums by less well-known but more critically-acclaimed bands such as Supergrass, The Charlatans UK and Ash.



In the end though, The Whitehalls are simply The Whitehalls: 4 musicians with important things to say, 3 countries of origin, 2 occasionally squabbling brothers and 1 damn fine debut album.