Their debut EP Taking Abalonia was released in 2007. It was re-released with seven new songs on June 3, 2008, in Canada as a full-length LP under the name Howe Sounds / Taking Abalonia.
On July 1, 2009, Said the Whale released the EP The Magician to drum up anticipation for the release of their second full-length album Islands Disappear on October 13, 2009.
In the spring of 2011, Said the Whale toured the U.S. for the first time. During this time they were the subject of the CBC documentary "Winning America" directed by Brent Hodge and Thomas Buchan. The movie documented the band's trip and performances along the West Coast of North America on their way to and from Austin, Texas' SXSW Music Festival and culminated when Said the Whale won the Juno Award for New Group of the Year at the 2011 Juno Awards. The documentary aired on July 23, 2011, in British Columbia, and on April 7, 2012, across Canada.
They released their EP New Brighton on November 8, 2011, in preparation for their third full-length album, Little Mountain, released internationally on March 6, 2012.
In early 2012, the band was awarded a spot on the Canadian music magazine Rockstar Weekly's list of the "Top 12 RockStars to Watch in 2012". The list also included Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, and Rush. The band performed at the Sasquatch! Music Festival in 2012 and 2013.
Said the Whale released their fourth studio album, titled hawaiii, on September 17, 2013.
On January 4, 2017, they announced their fifth album, As Long As Your Eyes Are Wide. At the same time, they announced the departure of Spencer Schoening, and that they would move forward as a trio. The album was released March 31, 2017. The first single was "Step Into The Darkness."
On March 5, 2017, they posted an Instagram video with an email address which fans could contact in order to listen to the whole album for free before its release. Fans could stream the whole album on a personalized, private SoundCloud account from the 10th until the 15th of March without leaking or sharing the link. From the 15th until the 26th of March, the fans could invite their friends to listen to the album in a "listening party" in order to promote it but still not sharing the link to the album, keeping it strictly limited to those who were sent the link.
In September 2018, Said the Whale signed to Canadian indie label Arts & Crafts, and announced a new record to be released in early 2019. The band released a new single "UnAmerican" on October 12, 2018. They released their sixth studio album, Cascadia, on February 8, 2019.
Throughout 2021, Said the Whale released a number of singles and music videos from their upcoming album, including "Honey Lungs," "Everything She Touches is Gold to Me," "Show Me Everything," and "99 to the Moon." In May, Bancroft announced he was launching a new record label called EVERYTHING FOREVER. Said the Whale's seventh studio album, Dandelion, was released on October 22, 2021, via that label.
Holly Ontario
Said the Whale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
First time on the road
Stops beside the lake
And walks out onto the snow
Just eighteen years old
First time away from home
Discommunicates
Holly digs a hole
and kneels as though to pray
Reveals a shrouded phone
And buries it in the lake
Holly far from home
First time on the road
Drives beside the lake
For the first time in north Ontario
Said the Whale's song "Holly Ontario" tells a story of a young woman named Holly who is on the road far away from her home for the first time. As she stops beside a lake covered in snow, she feels alienated and disconnected from her usual environment, the kind of feeling that she has never experienced before. Holly then decides to dig a hole and buries a phone, which could represent memories or associations from her past that she wants to leave behind as she ventures into a new life. As she drives beside the lake in north Ontario, Holly appears to embrace this new chapter with open arms.
Line by Line Meaning
Holly far from home
A young woman named Holly is in an unfamiliar place away from her home
First time on the road
It is her first time travelling outside her town/city limits
Stops beside the lake
Holly halts her journey and finds herself near a body of water
And walks out onto the snow
She ventures onto the snow-covered land beside the lake
Just eighteen years old
She is only 18 years of age
First time away from home
This is her first time being away from her place of dwelling
Discommunicates
She becomes emotionally detached
For the first time truly alone
This is the first moment in her life where she feels genuinely isolated
Holly digs a hole
Holly starts to dig a hole in the snow
and kneels as though to pray
She adopts a prayer-like position
Reveals a shrouded phone
Holly takes out a phone that she has concealed in something
And buries it in the lake
She places the phone in the hole and buries it in the snow
Drives beside the lake
Holly continues driving next to the lake
For the first time in north Ontario
This is the first time she is in northern Ontario
Contributed by Jasmine G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.