Customer Reviews

Heartworm

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Every once in a great while, an album is released that is hailed as a classic by respected music critics and rabid fans, yet fails to succeed with the general public at large. Often when this happens, critics and fans find themselves waxing philosophical over the "why's" and "how's" that something so good could be so criminally overlooked. In the case of Whipping Boy's "Heartworm" album, it's pretty clear as to why this album never *crossed over* with American audiences. This is way too dark, intense, and emotionally violent for the majority of American alterna-rock fans. This is music that is powerful, confrontational, and most importantly, overflowing with a disturbing level of conviction. Furthermore, the kind of mood and emotion on this album has a distinctly English flavor (even though the band actually hailed from Ireland). My theory is that the last thing most American FM rock fans want to hear is music that doesn't play well as *background* but instead forces you to listen due to its emotional urgency.

Whipping Boy achieves this emotional urgency right at the outset of "Heartworm." The opening track, "Twinkle," begins with a very tragic sounding melody played on a violin over top some softly-played guitar chords that hint of reverb and delay effects. When this intro gently gives way to the song proper, the listener is immediately struck by the captivating voice of Ferghal McKee. McKee possesses a wonderfully rich and beautiful voice that embodies warmth and sensitivity. Yet this voice also belies a certain anger and darkness that becomes more apparent as the album progresses.

The melodies in "Twinkle", both in terms of the instrumentation and the vocal lines, show a remarkable degree of intelligence, creativity and subtlety. Guitarist Paul Page, who was the main creative driving force behind Whipping Boy, laces "Twinkle" with hushed guitar tones and gentle washes of feedback during the verse section, where McKee's lyric, "She's the air I breathe, not too pure for me" wraps around the listener's ear like a boa constrictor. When the loud-as-hell guitars finally explode during the chorus, McKee's once-sensitive sounding voice gives way to an almost primal-sounding scowl that would have made Ian Curtis proud. These intense vocals are made all the more enjoyable with some well-executed and very memorable harmonies. With that said, the highpoint (and most unexpected moment) of the song occurs at roughly 3:54, when, after the chorus has repeated itself along with the aforementioned guitar explosion, yet *another* and even *louder* guitar explosion occurs---with this particular sound coming across as the band being hellbent on acheiving the mother of all guitar sounds. It's almost as if a coked-up Jesus & Mary Chain made a last minute, impromptu appearance at the recording sessions and decided to join in the festivities for the last 60 seconds or so of the opening track.

Once "Twinkle" draws to an emotional close, the album's quality and consistency never dips. "When We Were Young" is an intriguing sonic journey that alternates between feelings of wistfulness and frustration. "Tripped" takes the album to a darker place, exploring unusual cadences and oft-kilter guitar sounds alongside the band's now trademark melodicism and smart songwriting. This is followed by the equally impressive and even more bleak-sounding "The Honeymoon Is Over", which serves as a wonderful showcase for the talents of guitarist Page. This track in particular, along with the next song, "We Don't Need Nobody Else", serve as the album's emotional centerpiece. It's easy to see why the latter was interpreted as misogynist, with the line, "I hit you for the first time today/I didn't mean it, it just happened." While the band deny this interpretation, the line only makes the song that much more harrowing and disturbing.

And speaking of disturbing, there is no question that vocalist McKee had "issues." He was notorious for cutting himself with glass bottles on stage ala Iggy Pop, and occassionally stripped naked while performing. To be sure, quite a few of the lyric passages contained within this album have references that are so esoteric and region-specific, they could easily be interpreted as the nonsensical ravings of a madman. In fact, I have to admit that I am not sure myself how to interpret the lyrics for the last track, "A Natural", where McKee confesses, "Today is not a good day for me/For today I found out I was mad."

There is no question that this is one of the darkest, most emotionally-revealing albums ever recorded. After listening to this, I often feel emotionally-drained in a way that's comparable to watching a film like "Saving Private Ryan" or "The Deer Hunter." And while the band's influences are clearly apparent (most notably, Echo and the Bunnymen, Jesus and Mary Chain, Kitchens of Distinction), they do succeed in molding their own unique sound apart from their contemporaries. Highly recommended.

"Heartworm" is one of the few albums in the world that can measure up to My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless". I'll give it to MBV, but The Whipping Boy gives them a hell of a run for their money. On this album, each track is your favourite, until you hear the next one.

They came, they made something slightly phenomenal, they disappeared. That's just how it goes sometimes. Let's leave it at this: at the prices for which it's currently available used, there is absolutely no excuse for your not picking this one up -- especially if you dig Jesus & Mary Chain, Catherine Wheel, My Bloody Valentine, Bob Mould, and the like.

Monstrous hooks. Guitars that take no prisoners. Thoroughly bleak, borderline misanthropic lyrical outlook. Achingly gorgeous throughout. Prime wallowing music, basically, and recommended without reservation for when you need to get that stuff out of your system so that you can get on with something a bit more positive.

They were the greatest Irish band that never quite made it or got the recognition they deserved. This album was their peak - an absolute gem - every song is a standout. I'm hoping they make it over to my neck of the woods on their reunion tour..

.. you hear an old song that leads to a reflection back to yesteryear. This album was on my playlist just before I came to the US ... and I've heard nothing to surpass it in the 11 years I've been here.

This is a brilliant album spawning from the mid 90's alternative scene. This album is much deeper and maturer then most of the stuff that became popular. Most people who bought this in the states probably purchased it on a whim and I will tell you, we are very lucky cuz this is a gem. Wish I could find more info on this band today.

What can I say about this album? I bought it only a couple of weeks ago, and it has not left my CD player since. What's funny is that I recall hearing "Twinkle" on the local alternative radio station almost 10 years ago and didn't hear it again until last month, upon which time I promptly ordered the CD. If I had known more about Whipping Boy when I was younger I probably would have enjoyed their music more than the popular stuff I was into. Their music is dark and lush and moody; the lyrics and vocals remind me of some of my favorite Nick Cave. After only one time hearing a song, it was stuck in my head throughout the day. Another plus, which is not quite as common these days as before the advent of internet file-sharing's explosion, is that the entire album is sublime. How many whole albums can be described that way now?

An absolute classic!Without any doubt the greatest Irish album of all time.had pleasure of seeing them live twice.definately a high point

In my own opinion Hearthworm is the greatest Irish album of all time and was recently voted in at number 5 on an all time greatest list by an Irish music magazine.How this band never made it big is a travesty because they certainley had the talent.This album is extremly hard to get so dont hang about buy it now,evrybody should know about this album.The band recentley reformed and played a gig in Dublin which i was lucky enough to be at and they were excelent.To pick out a stand out track is difficult because there are so many but 'we dont need nobody else' is my personal favourite,one of my favourite songs of all time from one of my favourite albums.If you read the rest of the review's you will sea that everyone has given it five stars and have said only positive things about it.There are not to many albums that get such universial praise,we all cant be wrong buy this album and share it with everyone you know you wont be disapointed.