Last time out, the Whigs landed a blow with the barroom brawler Give ‘Em All a Fat Lip.Now, fans of the “swing first, ask questions later” scufflin’ Southernethos will be glad to know the Athens, GA trio are back with the chipstill on their shoulder. The Whigs hail from onetime indie-rock haventhe University of Georgia, but with their alt-country twist, all oftheir roots bleed through, sounding stuck between the stations ofcollege radio and classic rock. On “Right Hand on My Heart,” the Whigs’Parker Gispert channels My Morning Jacket’s Jim James and takes hissatin tone to a sandpaper surface. The kick-drum jabs and the cymbalssting, but the sucker punch is the wall of guitars — bright,triumphant, and yet still growling. A squealing solo ushers in ashattering climax until the gas runs out and Gispert, running on fumesover feedback, connects with one more punch — line, that is: “We gotyour money, now we’ll make a new start.” The latest from the Whigs, Mission Control, drops Jan. 22 via ATO.
Now Hear This:
The Whigs – “Right Hand on My Heart”
On the Web:
The Whigs at MySpace
thewhigs.com
Talk: Do the Whigs get your ‘heart’ pumping?
