REVIEW: Death And Vanilla—Whistle And I'll Come To You (2025)
Soothing reimagined soundtrack to a 1968 cult TV ghost story
Death And Vanilla do love a soundtrack. Whistle And I'll Come To You is now their third full length score, following on from 2013’s Vampyr and 2018’s The Tenant. In the hands of lesser bands, such indulgences might be inessential at best. The kinds of albums you might have in your collection, but rarely stick on.
But one of the interesting thing about this Swedish band is they’ve become so committed to the form, that they’re now really good at it. I’ve had the new album on half a dozen times this past few days, and it’s much more than just a bunch of ethereal incidental pieces slung on an album. It really works as a complete piece, and fits the premise extremely well.
Now, I won’t pretend to know a damned thing about the source material: a cult 1968 television ghost story Whistle And I’ll Come To You, but when the band invites listeners to an eerie, desolate world, I’m in. The show’s “stark black and white visuals and supernatural tone” inspires the “haunting atmosphere and creeping sense of dread” in the score. I can’t confirm whether the music matches the show or not, but the good news is you don’t have to have any investment in the source material to enjoy the music on the record. Happily, some kindly soul on the internet has uploaded it on YouTube, so you can see if the score works.
It also doesn’t hurt the record that it is entirely instrumental. If anything, that gives it more intensity and lets you focus fully on the haunting textures and wibbly sounds that creep in.
Although the record is split into 11 ‘tracks’, you won’t even really hear the join for most of them. It just seamlessly flows throughout, giving it the feel of a continuous piece. Given that it was performed live at the Hypnos Theatre in Malmö, they presumably wanted it to feel like that—a holistic, chilling piece that envelopes you. Stopping each song to chat or tune up would have clearly killed the vibe.
An album such as this also amply demonstrates that Death And Vanilla have much more to them. I always feel sorry for the tranche of ‘Broadcast-inspired’ bands having to always justify their existence and/or escape their long shadow. The truth is, while they’re very much influenced by several of the same sub-genres (i.e. 60s/70s soundtracks, library music, Krautrock, French Ye-ye pop and 60s psych) they shape it in a different way. A mellower way. Seven albums in, they have so much to explore. Yet another brilliant band within the Fire Records stable worthy of your time and exploration.
