The music video for Havania Whaal’s “Supermoon” was released this past week. It follows the protagonist as they fall asleep underneath a glowing full moon stuck to the wall. As happens in any good dream, everything in the video is out of place yet exactly where it’s supposed to be. It has the snarky attitude of indie-darlings like Ghost World and Juno, encased in the style of silent films. Havania Whaal’s distorted, buzzing music follows the protagonist as they attempt to navigate the romantically campy dreamscape. The characters in the video may be out of sync with their bodies, but they’re perfectly in tune with the music. It’s a playful house of horrors, one you’ll enjoy getting lost in.

  -By Avril Carrillo

Since 2012 Portland’s Havania Whaal has been making their own rules. Their ethereal sound can be likened to post-punk meets shoegaze...sort of. They call themselves “noise pop”, but when you’re forging new territory the descriptors fall short of the mark. All three members share vocal duties, which adds to the layers and dimension of their reverb-drenched domain. Stepping it up further, they recently created a live stage production with dancers and costumes, the soundtrack of which was the band performing their new cassette release “13 A.D.” Rumor has it that live productions will be a hallmark of Havaia Whaal shows henceforth. They’re touring the east coast with Portland’s Lubec for 10 days starting July 9 in Massachusetts.

See their tour kickoff show at The Know July 2nd. Buy their tape, pop it in the cassette deck of your ‘85 Volvo, and cruise around town lamenting the summer, wearing the darkest shades you can find. 

-Just Dave

So what is a Havania Whaal? Havania Wall? Whale? Wail?

Havania Whaal fall into a space between the garage, noise-rock, post-punk and shoegaze genres. They take elements of each and inject them with an experimental energy you can only achieve by attaching a set of pickups to a mandolin and distorting it’s traditional sound until it becomes something otherworldly. This sound and a charged live show has brought them through the crowded house shows and bars of Portland to The Tube, where they are set to release their new 'slime green” cassette tape, Château De Chienne this Thursday night. Be there to experience Havania Whaal in their gritty, noise filled and ecstatic glory. The show starts at 9, Mister Tang, The Mishaps and DJ Alligator Heart will be performing as well. - Benjamin Toledo