Customer Reviews

Mission Control

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

 

 

Let me state upfront that I had never heard of the Whigs (not to be confused obviously with the now defunct Afghan Whigs) until I heard one of their songs recently on WOXY, the indie-rock internet-only station ("BAM!! The Future of Rock and Roll!"), and really liked what I heard, so I decided to check them out. The Athens, GA band is fronted by singer-guitarist-song writer Parker Gispert, with Julian Dorio on drums, and supplemented by a number of hired guns for bass and other instruments. This is the band's second album.

"Mission Control" (11 tracks, 37 min.) starts off with a blazing "Like a Vibration", a short take-no-prisoners track that immediately grabs your attention. The sound of the band immistakebly reminds you of the Replacements. The first half of the album is superb, with gems like "Production City" and the best track of the album "Right Hand On My Heart", with a hard charging drum beat evetually joined by crashing electric guitars. The middle of the album brings a few pensive tunes, including a beautiful "1000 Wives". The second half of the album falters a bit, but "I Got Ideas" and the title track, which closes the album, are quite nice.

These guys are a breath of fresh air on the indie-rock scene. "Mission Control" is a rousing album, pure and simple. Looking forward to catch the Whigs in concert at some point. Meanwhile, this album is highly recommended!

i stumbled on this cd by reading a rave review. I am amazed at the scope of this 37 minute masterpiece. I hear The Who, Green day, Radiohead, Replacements, yet it is all Whigs. By the third listen you are singing along and once again remember the joy of truly great rock music. They will be talked about much more in the coming year and beyond. Grab it now and Whig Out!

This CD rocks - every song is fantastic. It's just altogether a great listen . . .

I found these guys in the credits of the movie,"The Assassination of a Class President," and then looked them up on MySpace and then bought both of their Cd's. Music is a personal choice but, I do like their sound. For a Sophomore release, well...I think it's better than "Fat Lip" in many ways. But, I don't want to disrespect that album, which is very good!

Catch them now before they figure it out and everyone you know is saying how much they love them and you have to go to the balcony to see them live. Heavy rotation material. Front to back. Solid effort and a dot on the map.

I fricken love this band! The whole album, every song is worth multiple listens to over and over again.
And when you wear this one out go get
'give em all a big fat lip'.
Wholly crap it's good too.
I saw them recently with Tokyo police club.
F**K THE POLICE! We love the WHIGS!

Fabulous hooked filled album. In fact, "Right Hand On My Heart" hooked me. Brings to mind Guided By Voices, The Replacements and A.M. Wilco.

I picked this up after seeing the Whigs live with the Drive By Truckers, and I haven't looked back since.

They put on an intense live performance, and all of that energy comes through on their album.

These guys have quickly become my favorite new band. Their putting forth simple, yet driven rock and roll, and this album takes it one step further than their debut.

I'm hoping for nothing but the best for The Whigs, because I can't wait to hear what they put out next.

Don't miss these guys if they come through your town.

I saw these fellas perform in Buffalo, and their live show was absolutely solid. The CD is, on the whole, a good listen. It gets off to a rockin' start with "Like a Vibration." Track 2 isn't all that good, but the next four are. By far, the best song on the CD and, in fact, what has to be a candidate for the best rock song of 2008, is "Right Hand on my Heart." This is the kind of song that makes you appreciate great speakers, one that you can't help but rock out to in your car while listening at an ear-blistering decibel level. Yeah, it's that good. "Sleep Sunshine" is a nice follow-up to "Right Hand." It's much slower and melodic, a rather haunting, Radiohead-ish tune. Do yourself a favor and check out "Mission Control." Even better, make sure to see the Whigs if they come to your town.

With "Mission Control," The Whigs have built on the solid foundation established by "Give'em All a Big Fat Lip." This album strikes the perfect medium between exploring new territory and preserving core competence. Thus, they've managed to progress without betraying their genuine sound (which is definitely worth preserving).

It's cool to see an indie band unabashedly get after it - anyone who saw their recent performance on David Letterman knows these guys can rock pretty hard - however, a wise sense of restraint governs their music and prevents it from drifting into a disorganized, overly loud mess. A good blend of order and spontaneity.

If you want to try out a song before you buy the album, I recommend "Right Hand On My Heart." I'd say it's the best one. Plus, you don't need to have already heard the band to enjoy it. I put it on my soccer team's warmup CD and both teams quickly got into a noticeable groove. Anecdotal evidence that this album rocks!