Said The Whale - Dandelion

BC: Top 10 of 2021

by Ben Boddez

The title of Vancouver indie-rock royalty Said The Whale’s seventh studio album comes from the split perspectives on the titular plant – some viewing it as an annoyingly persistent weed, others appreciating the floral beauty. With the band’s usual anthemic gang vocals, celebration of natural elements and an awestruck, sunny and bright sound, their tracks are bolstered by orchestral strings as they pray for a much-needed injection of kindness into the world.

Bo Burnham’s transcendent comedy special isn’t the only great piece of COVID-adjacent art titled Inside released this year. The indie-rock quintet’s latest opens and closes with the sounds of the 7pm clanging pots and pans that once heralded the essential workers, and many of the tracks find them grappling with introspective thoughts while trapped in a room – being stuck inside one’s own head being an even worse fate than the physical boundaries.