The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
  • Reviews
    • Album Reviews
    • Features
    • Live Reviews
    • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • Headlines
    • News
    • Contests
    • Events
    • Entertainment Headlines
    • Concert Listings
    • Toronto Concert Venues
  • New Music
    • Premieres
    • Track Of The Day
  • Track Of The Month
  • Books + Movies
  • About
16
new
SPILL FEATURE: GROWING AND EVOLVING – A CONVERSATION WITH DEADLANDS
SPILL NEWS: JUNO-NOMINATED ALTERNATIVE INDIE-ROCK DUO SOFTCULT RELEASE NEW SINGLE “NAIVE” ON EASY LIFE RECORDS | TOUR DATES
SPILL NEWS: YELLOWCARD RELEASE NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO “TAKE WHAT YOU WANT” AHEAD OF NEW ALBUM VIA BETTER NOISE MUSIC | TOUR DATES
SPILL NEW MUSIC: CANADIAN PROGRESSIVE ROCK DUO CROWN LANDS SIGN WORLDWIDE DEAL WITH INSIDEOUTMUSIC | LAUNCH ‘RITUAL I’
SPILL MUSIC PREMIERE: SUGAR BOMB – “ELI SPECIAL”
SPILL FILM REVIEW: HUNG UP ON A DREAM: THE ZOMBIES DOCUMENTARY
SPILL NEW MUSIC: ARK IDENTITY – “STILL IN LOVE”
SPILL TRACK OF THE MONTH: MAREUX – “WILD AT HEART”
SPILL FEATURE: SING EVERY SINGLE SONG UNTIL IT HURTS – A CONVERSATION WITH ANDY STOCHANSKY
SPILL LIVE REVIEW: OMD w/ WALT DISCO @ HISTORY, TORONTO
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JONATHAN RICHMAN – ONLY FROZEN SKY ANYWAY
SPILL NEWS: ACCLAIMED CANADIAN SINGER, SONGWRITER, AND MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST ROYAL WOOD ANNOUNCES NINTH STUDIO ALBUM ‘DEAR JOHN’ | TOUR DATES
SPILL NEWS: BASS DRUM OF DEATH ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM ‘SIX’ OUT SEPTEMBER 12 & SHARE VIDEO FOR “DO NOTHING” | NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES
SPILL NEW MUSIC: MONITORS LEAD US DOWN A DARK, HYPNOTIC PATH ON “DANSE MACABRE” | THE FIRST SINGLE FROM NEW ALBUM ‘THE MADELAINE AFFAIR’
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JOHN JENKINS – RESTLESS HEARTS
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE BRAINS – CRAZY MONSTER
  • Reviews
    • Album Reviews
    • Features
    • Live Reviews
    • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • Headlines
    • News
    • Contests
    • Events
    • Entertainment Headlines
    • Concert Listings
    • Toronto Concert Venues
  • New Music
    • Premieres
    • Track Of The Day
  • Track Of The Month
  • Books + Movies
  • About
  • Spill Menu
    • Reviews
      • Album Reviews
      • Features
      • Live Reviews
      • Festivals
    • Portraits
    • Headlines
      • News
      • Contests
      • Events
      • Entertainment Headlines
      • Concert Listings
      • Toronto Concert Venues
    • New Music
      • Premieres
      • Track Of The Day
    • Track Of The Month
    • Books + Movies
    • About
Album Reviews
690
previous article
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JIM DAN DEE - JIM DAN DEE
next article
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: YESES - YESES

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: WHISPERING SONS – IMAGE

Whispering Sons

Whispering Sons
Image
Cleopatra Records

It’s a handy little tag, to refer to a band using the statement, “If Joy Division were female-fronted and Belgian”. One certainly gets the concept right away, and the comparison is well founded. Image, the debut album from Whispering Sons, employs staccato guitars, layered synths, programmed percussion, and haunting vocals – all of the elements that would place their sound firmly in the late 1970s post-punk era. This is their jumping-off point, but in many ways, Whispering Sons take the sound and genre to new heights.

Establishing their current lineup in 2013, Whispering Sons features the baritone-voiced female singer Fenne Kuppens, as well as Kobe Lijnen (guitar), Sander Hermans (synths), Tuur Vandeborne (bass) and Sander Pelsmaekers (drums). Their previous releases include the EP Endless Party (2015) and two 7-inch singles, Performance/Strange Identities (2016) and White Noise (2017).

Recorded over a tight and immersive ten days in the studio, Image presents a cohesive sound and a worldview that deals with issues of isolation, existentialism and mental health. These themes are revealed with sonic urgency through darkly ominous songs. But there’s no need to be afraid of the dark. These songs are remarkably energetic and hook-filled, drawing the listener in at every turn. From the intro of Image’s first track, “Stalemate”, one is compelled to take notice of the song’s odd catchiness and hypnotic drive, as Kuppens sings the lyrics: “As roads collide and I with them/Madness manifests itself/Though I feel alive for an instant/Numbness is closing in”. 

The songs on Image were written after Whispering Sons relocated to Brussels in 2016. Their move to the city contributes to the album’s moods of alienation and distance. In the hypnotic and powerful song “Got A Light”, Kuppens sings the repeated refrain, ‘How are you feeling? Good.’ By the song’s end, this phrase has morphed into the existential question ‘How are you feeling good?’

With a consistent sound throughout, and expert production by Micha Volders (producer) and Bert Vliegen (co-producer/engineer), Image is an excellent album. The band keeps driving the songs forward, and big lyrical questions keep being asked. With their artfully unified musicianship, this band does more than simply pay homage to a classic sound. We have seen the future of post-punk, and its name is Whispering Sons.



Artist Links

website_flat_2016 facebook_flat_2016 twitter_flat_2016 instagram_flat_2016

Item Reviewed

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: WHISPERING SONS – IMAGE

Author

Bryan Williston

Here's what we think...
Spill Rating
Fan Rating
Rate Here
New Criteria
10
7.8
8.0
Total Spill Rating
7.8
Total Fan Rating
3 ratings
You have rated this
Album Reviews
album reviewalbum reviewsaloneclepatra recordsimagewhispering sons
album review, album reviews, alone, clepatra records, image, whispering sons
About the Author
Bryan Williston
Musician, writer, and grandad Bryan Williston is a fan of music in all of its forms. He loves to listen to, play, and talk about music, and to share his ideas with others. Despite the failings of humans, he is hopeful about the future, and thinks that Spill Magazine readers are just the best. Bryan lives in Whitby with an assortment of people and dogs.
RELATED ARTICLES
album reviewalbum reviewsalone
 
9.0
Jonathan Richman
7.7

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JONATHAN RICHMAN – ONLY FROZEN SKY ANYWAY

by Aaron Badgley on July 4, 2025
JONATHAN RICHMAN ONLY FROZEN SKY ANYWAY BLUE ARROW RECORDS Only Frozen Sky Anyway is Jonathan Richman’s 18th studio album, add in nine albums with The Modern Lovers and four live albums, one can see that Richman has been very busy since he made [...]
 
9.0
John Jenkins
9.5

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JOHN JENKINS – RESTLESS HEARTS

by Aaron Badgley on July 4, 2025
JOHN JENKINS RESTLESS HEARTS JOHN JENKINS MUSIC Liverpool-based John Jenkins has been releasing music since 2015. Restless Hearts is his first album since the brilliant and very personal Tuebrook, released in 2023. Jenkins is an artist that is [...]
 
8.0
The Brains

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE BRAINS – CRAZY MONSTER

by Aaron Badgley on July 4, 2025
THE BRAINS CRAZY MONSTER CLEOPATRA RECORDS It may be hard to believe, but it has been 20 years since The Brains’ debut album, No Brain, No Pain. This psychobilly (as they describe themselves) have released eight studio albums, and Crazy [...]
 
9.0
The Legends Of Surf Guitar

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: VARIOUS ARTISTS – THE LEGENDS OF SURF GUITAR

by Aaron Badgley on July 4, 2025
VARIOUS ARTISTS THE LEGENDS OF SURF GUITAR OGLIO Releasing a live album of surf music on July 4 is absolutely perfect. This album has captured a moment in time and it is finally seeing the light of day. The Legends Of Surf Guitar brings together [...]
 
9.0
Church Of Trees

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CHURCH OF TREES – THIEF OF JOY

by Aaron Badgley on July 1, 2025
CHURCH OF TREES THIEF OF JOY INDEPENDENT Church Of Trees, the brainchild of multi-talented Bernard Frazer, burst on the scene in 2017 with their debut EP, Primitive Creatures. Since then, they have released five albums and a retrospective [...]

Latest Album Reviews
View All
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JONATHAN RICHMAN – ONLY FROZEN SKY ANYWAY
9.0
7.7
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JOHN JENKINS – RESTLESS HEARTS
9.0
9.5
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE BRAINS – CRAZY MONSTER
8.0
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: VARIOUS ARTISTS – THE LEGENDS OF SURF GUITAR
9.0
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CHURCH OF TREES – THIEF OF JOY
9.0

STAY UP-TO-DATE
WITH OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER!

Tweets by @spillmagazine

SPILL MAGAZINE MENU
  • Home | The Spill Magazine
  • Newsletter
  • Premieres
  • SPILL RETRO REVIEWS
  • Track Of The Month
  • Album Reviews
  • Books + Movies
  • Features
  • Live Reviews
  • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • News
  • Events
  • Entertainment Headlines
  • Concert Listings
  • Toronto Concert Venues
  • About Us
  • Contests
  • New Music
  • Contributors
  • TOTD
  • Privacy Policy
  • The Scene Unseen
  • Newsletter

Copyright © 2024 | The Spill Magazine
All Rights Reserved.

TRENDING RIGHT NOW
   
 
SPILL CONTEST: WIN ONE OF TWO PAIRS OF TICKETS TO SEE OMD PERFORM LIVE AT HISTORY IN TORONTO ON JULY 4!
944
 
SPILL ALBUM PREMIERE: MAX RAEL – THE ENEMY IS US
867
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DUSTY SPRINGFIELD – LONGING
570
 
SPILL CONTEST: ENTER TO WIN A GWAR PRIZE PACK INCLUDING TICKETS TO SEE THEM LIVE AT HISTORY ON JUNE 9!
505
 
SPILL FEATURE: A NEW ERA OF CAR SEAT – A CONVERSATION WITH SETH DALBY, ETHAN IVES & ANDREW KATZ OF CAR SEAT HEADREST
449
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: PETER MURPHY – SILVER SHADE
436
 
SPILL CONTEST: WIN A MEET-AND-GREET PACKAGE TO SEE ALESSIA CARA AT ROY THOMSON HALL ON MAY 15!
420
 
SPILL FEATURE: IT JUST FEELS LIKE WE’RE A LITTLE MORE IN CHARGE – A CONVERSATION WITH CRISPIAN MILLS OF KULA SHAKER
407
 
SPILL NEWS: THE BESNARD LAKES SET TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM ON OCTOBER 10
346
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE – ALIVE IN THE CATACOMBS
309
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: HOWARD JONES – PIANO COMPOSED IVORY & PIANO COMPOSED SPIRIO
293
 
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: VAGUE NOTION – “BASE SICK”
265
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: LOWEST OF THE LOW – OVER YEARS AND OVERNIGHT
251
ENTERTAINMENT HEADLINES