Hush money: Whisper Party! prepare to make some noise about their new album, Waveland
Quietly confident: Whisper Party!
Interview by Paul Oswell
Whisper Party! are a New Orleans-based dreampop band with some of the catchiest hooks in the city. As they release their new album, Waveland, we caught up with the group and shouted a few questions at them.
Hi, and thank you for talking to us, Whisper Party! Who are we talking to and could you introduce us to the band and its members for those that somehow don’t know you?
Hi! Thanks for the chat. We’re a dream pop/rock band based in New Orleans, LA. We’ve got Jean Preston, vocalist and keyboardist. Rex Marshall, bass and moog player. Chris Hayes on drums, and Michael Selser the guitarist who plays a small keyboard at times too.
Congratulations on Waveland - I’m sure there are lots of people that are excited to listen to a new album from y’all. Tell us a little about its evolution - was this a smooth writing and production process, does the album have any themes...? Tell us the (short) story of the album!
Thanks! We’re pretty excited about it, and very proud of the product. So, the meat and potatoes of the album was recorded at our home in Waveland MS ('Rumors' style without the drama, haha) When it came time to name it, Waveland seemed fitting. The album ebbs and flows through lamenting themes like loss and despair, but also hopeful themes of new beginnings and love much like how the waves of life take you up and down through your darkest and lightest times. It was a fairly smooth process in general. Luckily we all understand our sound as a group more as well as what we bring individually, so creatively, we’re able to come to agreements and compromises with ease.
Was it different making this album compared to your first? There’s the cliche of “the tricky second album” - did you feel that making Waveland? Do you feel the band experienced a musical or lyrical evolution/progression with this album?
I think we’re thinking of “the tricky second album” more now that this one is released! Honestly, it really wasn’t on our mind. By the time our first album came out, we already had new songs for the second album, and so we didn’t really have time to play the dreaded 'comparison' game. I think that the way that we approach writing helps to ease any sort of pressure because we don’t write for others, if you know what I mean. Obviously, we want people to like what we write, but that’s not what drives us. Instead we’re driven to release art that we feel proud of and that we like as musicians and listeners. I think we’ve evolved for sure in the sense of trying out new ideas musically and tonally, but everything feels organic and unforced.
Official band lore (OK I just read it on the internet) says that y’all formed in 2021. Your first, self-titled album came out in 2023 and now this new album in 2024 - you’re setting yourselves up as being intimidatingly prolific! Is that how you see yourselves? Has coming together as musicians ignited a huge creative spark?
Ha! Intimidating is such a funny word, cause we’re not so intimidating in real life. But wow, what a compliment! I mean, I guess I’ll circle around to what I mentioned earlier. We don’t place pressure on creating, we create because we like creating and we do so when it feels right; when the spirit strikes I guess you could say. I mean, we do already have new songs for our third album ready to go because we genuinely enjoy creating together. But, who knows? Maybe we’ll be done with three albums, maybe we’ll do 50! For now, we’re enjoying the process and we’ll ride the creativity as it comes. But, YES! We truly enjoy playing and writing with each other. We’re all honing our song writing skills and the more we understand Whisper Party! the more inspired we feel.
I’ve reviewed a couple of your singles and I’ve tried to describe your sound to friends. To misquote Zappa, talking about music is like dancing about architecture, but sadly we’re bound by words sometimes. I see ‘sophisticated dream pop’ or similar phrases bandied around (sometimes by me) - is that close to how you view yourselves and do you feel like musical labels are ever helpful to a band?
Sophisticated?! I like that. Might have to use that one next time! We’ve had that struggle ourselves, because we feel a little too heavy musically to fit into the dream pop category, but not heavy enough to be dream rock. We’ve often said noir dream pop as well since visually our aesthetic is dark and mysterious. Labels are helpful I guess in explaining what you sound like, but I think it helps in the creative process to not feel locked in by a label or have to fit in a certain box. That way, you don’t feel bound in any way or like you have to write to fit others’ expectations. So, we've got a few boxes I think we could check, and that’s good enough for us.
I’ve dropped bands/acts like Broadcast, Franz Ferdinand, April March and Metronomy (perhaps lazily) as influences. I’m likely way off - are there any bands that you would consider informing your sound or who any of the band cite as influential?
Yeah, for sure. Top three? Blonde Redhead, Slowdive, and Cocteau Twins. Love your picks though too.
This being New Orleans and this being 2024, I assume all musicians with less profile than, say, Chapell Roan, have to work other jobs. Do you all perform in multiple bands to fund Whisper Party? I think I read that some of you were in covers bands playing on Frenchmen, etc.
Whisper Party! Is definitely a passion project for sure. Right now, the only band member in other active projects is Chris, the drummer. He’s been in a Talaheasse based ska-core band called Chilled Monkey Brains for years and also a NOLA based punk rock band Atomic Broad. We all have 'day jobs' that help supplement the project.
I’m a big fan of your song titles - I assume there’s at least one word nerd in the group with flawless names such as ‘Opus for the Hopeless’ and there’s plenty of wordplay going on (eg. Eyes Are Everything/I Saw Everything)...Do the lyrics get workshopped a lot or do they mainly arrive fully formed?
Thanks! Usually the song titles come last, but honestly, the lyrics come pretty fully formed. Jean and Rex are married so they have the luxury of workshopping some stuff together if needed, and Michael used to teach English and is a writer so we’re lucky in that regard.
Tell us about playing live in New Orleans. Which venues do you gravitate towards?
Some of our favorite spots to play are Carrollton Station, Tipitinas, and Maple Leaf.
Playing music in a ‘music town’ must have pros (eg. lots of venues) and cons (eg. harder to get noticed), especially when you’re not playing jazz standards. What is the local pop/indie scene like, is it harder to find an audience here for what you do?
Yeah, sometimes that can be a struggle, but actually the more we’ve played and the more events we help to organize (Rex has an event production company called Rad Rabbit Productions) the more indie/pop bands or artists we’ve met. And we’re finding that Whisper Party! is garnering more fans at every show, and I think it’s because it IS different and refreshing in a way. It’s been really fun to learn about the indie scene here as it was new to us as well.
Have you been touring? I assume you’ll be touring the new album at least regionally - where are you headed and do Whisper Party like being on the road?
Yes! We’ve taken two tours. The first tour we had the pleasure of touring with Daikaiju, in Lafayette, Austin, and Dallas. This past weekend we went west again to promote Waveland, but added in a stop in Waveland MS to pay homage to its beginnings! Touring is exhausting...but so fun! Great stories to tell and band bonding experiences.
Which local music do you like? Who from New Orleans would you take on tour if money and logistics weren’t an issue?
We’re big fans of local bands like Shark Attack!!, Lisbon Girls, Planet of the Little Green Men, Bakeys Brew, Two-Tone Merigold, Sax Kicks Ave, and Crush Diamond. We’d be happy to tour with any of ‘em!
And finally, where can people find you online/see you in town in the near future?
The best place to check/follow would be on instagram @whipserpartymusic, and/or our website www.whisperpartymusic.com. Our music can be streamed or bought on any streaming or purchasing platform.
Thank you, Whisper Party! And best of luck with the album and, well, everything!
Thank you for taking time to get to know us, and appreciate your appreciation!
For upcoming concert information and more music, check out the Whisper Party! website - click here
