The Whigs, a trio hailing from the same home town as R.E.M. (Athens, Georgia), have made noise during the past few years with the release of their first two albums “Give ‘Em All A Big Fat Lip” (2006) and “Mission Control” (2008). Rolling Stone named the young group one of the “Ten Artists to Watch,” earning them opening slots with The Killers, Kings of Leon, and many more.
This year, the trio hasn’t lost any momentum. Lead singer and guitarist Parker Gispert, bassist Tim Deaux and drummer Julian Dorio kicked off 2010 with the release of “In The Dark” and a national tour.
Although this album has the same pounding drums, grabbing hooks and memorable melodies that characterize the band’s style, it has a strikingly different feel from their previous work. As the title suggests, it is dark.
While the focal tracks of “Mission Control”, such as “Right Hand on My Heart” and “Like a Vibration”, revolved around themes of promise and passion, many of the tracks on “In The Dark” peer into the more sinister side of human nature.
“I Don’t Even Care About the One I Love” is a thrashing song, with sharp chords and rim shots that tie pointedly in to the message: “There’s a black heart inside of me.” The lyrics are striking, but the song itself is simplistic in a chant-y sort of way.
One of my personal favorites on the album is the opening track, “Hundred/Million”, which is essentially Parker Gispert’s quest to form his own identity. The chorus declares “There’s a hundred million people in my mind/ Which is me and which is not?”
His struggle is universal: how can we maintain who we are at our core without casting aside all influences? In modern society, and especially in the music industry, this question holds even more weight.
One aspect of the album that I didn’t love was the editing. The vocals feel over-produced, and I miss the raw, raspy quality of Gispert’s voice on previous albums.
The closing track, “Naked” is absolutely one of the most memorable songs on the CD. The six-minute song begins with an eerie chant that progresses eventually into a powerful anthem. The song tells the story of some one who casts aside her metaphorical clothing to discover what she has been hiding from the outside world—the band is clearly having some kind of identity crisis here. The song, however, is original and poignant, closing with the fantastic line “I don’t think I want my clothes back anymore.”
The Whigs visited St. Louis on April 22 at The Gargoyle, Washington University’s music venue. I was expecting the small basement performance space to be packed with students—especially for a band that had performed on The Late Show with David Letterman.
The turnout was unexpectedly low. The crowd wasn’t tightly packed, and it should have been. Students should make time to see live performances, especially when they are free. No matter what stresses or classes there are the next day, live music is an enriching and unwinding experience that young people should seek out—especially music of this caliber.
The Whigs nonetheless put their hearts into the show. They played songs from “In the Dark” as well as several other hits from “Mission Control” and “Give ‘Em All A Big Fat Lip”. The audience, while small, was energized.
Although “Mission Control” still holds its place as my favorite Whigs album, “In the Dark” shows a new side of the trio—one that is less melodically catchy, but just as interesting.