Album Notes

This album contains songs Whispering Bob recorded at home and is entirely self-produced on their trusty seven-track. It includes everything from computers on the first track to a dodgy brass section on the last, with flutes, violins, double bass, drum machines and the worlds worst trombone section in between. Despite its accidental birth, "Whispering Bob" could be the best drifting, uplifting, anti-materialist comedown album released this year.

"Don't Bring Me Down" was released by the Independent Shifty Disco Singles Club (now sold out), receiving airplay on Radio 1 and XFM and a typically humorous NME review from Steven Wells, calling it "the worst record ever made, apart from everything by Suede", while "Joy Is A High Window" appeared on the split "Wheat Is Murder" EP in severely limited edition. It still received a rapturous review in NME: "Few bands could be juxtaposed so closely with the subdued loveliness of Whispering Bob and not pale into comparison" as well fanzine coverage and even airplay on Radio 2. In November 1999 the band featured on Plastic Cowboy's 'Oxford' EP to which Steven Wells offered up yet another glowing review.


Review:

"Whispering Bob have put out one of the more delicate, lovely, pastoral records you're likely to hear all year. Slightly reminiscent of the Beta Band, or perhaps Grandaddy, but less pretentious, and in my opinion a lot better, these boys swoon and glide all over eleven carefree, woozy, lilting summertime tunes." The production is consistently dead-on, superbly capturing lush vocal harmonies, background synth squiggles, warm guitar tones and punchy drum tracks.
The songs themselves (sung by the aforementioned Robin Bennett) are beautifully constructed, floating along lazily on Bennett's soothing, warm voice and the band's deft touch with instrumentation. The album begins with a killer trio of tunes. The opener, "Hope Springs Eternal", starts out with buzzing electronics and a picked acoustic guitar before segueing nicely into full-band mode; glockenspiel and various electronic noises form a bed for Bennett's gorgeous vocal and acoustic guitar. "Time to Go" will win you over from the start, repeating the theme of acoustic guitars and squishy analog synth sounds, and Bennett's warm, inviting voice. "Joy is a High Window", possibly the album's best track, sports a highly addictive chorus and some lovely flute playing in the intro. "Joy is a high window / where cracks of light creep through / beckoning you", Bennett sings, and you can't help but feel a little warm and fuzzy inside. The record is consistently invigorating, whether it's the melancholy, violin-laden "Tread Softly", the slide guitar intro to "Don't Bring Me Down" or the spacy, dreamy "Dreams Burn Down" (which slightly recalls ex-Swevedriver frontman Adam Franklin's current Toshack Highway project). In the end, Whispering Bob is a simple, joyous delight through-and-through, and is very highly recommended."
Jeremy Schneyer - Splendid