The Whigs - In The Dark

The Whigs
In The Dark
2010 ATO

Much has been made of the Whigs’ recent tour with garage pop darlings Kings of Leon, and their subsequent shift in style evident on their new third full-length record, In The Dark. Whether intentional or not (and you’d have to think it is), In The Dark is more polished and more deliberate than either of its predecessors.

The first two Whigs albums, Give ‘Em All A Big Fat Lip (2005) and Mission Control (2008), featured repeated three-and-a-half minute bursts of raw energy. Things are much more methodical and much less frenetic on In The Dark. Those first albums were scintillating but also charming; the rambunctious and exciting nature of the band created a youthful aura around those records that made the music even more powerful. That feeling is largely absent on their new album, replaced by a toned-down pop sensibility that is different from their earlier material, but not entirely without merit.

The album starts off fairly strongly. “Black Lotus” is a solid indie-pop track, and the heavily Kings of Leon-influenced “Kill Me Carolyne” is a nice listen. Things quickly begin to drag, however, beginning with “Someone’s Daughter” and “So Lonely”. What follows are quick and unspectacular rock songs, each with similar structures and multiple choruses, none making an impression.

The slower, more deliberate style works in some places, such as in the opening riff and chorus of “I Don’t Even Care About The One I Love” and the soaring vocals in “I Am For Real”. Unfortunately, nearly all of the songs suffer from sounding so similar to one another; themes and melodies are consistently repeated from track to track. Even when something tickles the ear, it still sounds like a variant of something else you’ve already heard in another song.

The upsetting thing about In The Dark and the Whigs in general is that they had already crafted their own sound and mystique. They really didn’t need to abandon it to try and mold themselves to become a “Kings of Leon-type band”. There are enough good ideas here to hope that even if they continue on this trajectory, they can still release very good records. But I can’t help but feel discouraged that this band that I once saw upstage the Drive-By Truckers in concert has willfully tempered the qualities that made them so great.

C

John Lacey