Calva Louise – “Rhinoceros” Album Review

So Calva Louise have become a bit of a phenomenon this last year. They’ve been up and down the country, into Europe and made one hell of an impression on the industry while doing it. A series of fantastic singles bearing their incomparable sound have thrown them into the limelight of the UK scene, and it’s all led to their humongous debut album “Rhinoceros”. This is a big one, folks. 

The album kicks off with the psychedelic shot of fire that is “I Heard a Cry”. Straight away, this is my favourite song on this album. It’s catchy, emotional melodies and unbridled energy make it a fantastic song. Next up is the band’s debut single “I’m Gonna Do Well”, which mixes a garage punk sound with the band’s trademark quirks and one hell of a chorus. Third comes the most recent single “Tug Of War”, which is a merry go round of so many influences and original ideas that it’s beyond my comprehension to describe it any better than that. Next up is “Outrageous”, a garage punk track that shows off a fantastic bass sound and a potent chorus, and is easily one of the album’s highlights. Halfway through the album is “No Hay”, a dizzy, staggering track sung entirely in Spanish, and one that shows off the sheer range of sounds that this band can make.

The sixth track on the album is “Getting Closer”, a gently uplifting bop punctuated with distorted screaming vocals and fantastic vocal hooks. Next up comes “Wondertale”, a song that shows off an almost exotic guitar rhythm and a chorus that I could imagine singing while walking home after a night of merriment. The eighth song is the very effervescent “Cruel Girl”, a song that shows off Calva Louise’s pure spirit and energy, along with their crazy guitar sounds. This track has a killer layered vocal part too. Second to last is “Down The Stream”, which I guess is this album’s ballad-esque track, even though it’s still as charming, uplifting and quirky as the rest, and finally we have “Out Of Use”. This song starts out quite chilled and bouncy, but quickly becomes a riff fuelled slap-in-the-face, and yet is still seamlessly blended. 

The thing that is so charming to me about Calva Louise is that their sound is both welcoming and crazy, and the quirkiness of their overall vibe feels genuine, not just weird for the sake of weird. Their ability to utilise such a mad sound to create relatable, uplifting songs is a testament to their pure brilliance as a band. 

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