Hailing from the land that brought the world R.E.M., the Whigs will release their sophomore CD, "Mission Control," on Jan. 22 on ATO Records. "Mission Control" is an explosion of The Strokes' garage-rock style with a southern twang that will surely please any rock fan, whether classic or indie.
Parker Gispert, who does vocals and plays guitar and keyboard for the Whigs, brings a certain Dave Grohl quality to his voice while evoking Nirvana-esque punk, á la "About A Girl" in "Hot Bed." Julian Dorio, who plays drums, and Tim Deaux, who does backing vocals and plays bass, hold down the rhythm section for this Athens, Ga. trio.
With their 2005 debut, "Give 'Em All a Fat Lip," the Whigs have been compared with 60s surf-pop band the Beach Boys and their psychedelic sound of "Pet Sounds," all the while hinting at southern punk.
"I love those '60s and '70s bands," drummer Julian Dorio said. "The Beach Boys is a tall order to fill. We look up to them and hopefully end up like them."
By constantly touring the South and even venturing to New York, the Whigs have conjured up a loyal fan-base around their hometown. Their MySpace.com page had more than 8,500 fans as of Tuesday.
"We [as a band] never had high expectations," Dorio said. "We were just having fun playing together in college, but we had a strong work ethic and worked really hard."
In the April 2007 issue of Esquire Magazine, Julian Dorio received the "best drummer of 2007" award, Dorio said.
"Drummers who know their place in the song and not to clash with the vocals or melodies are my influences," Dorio said. His drumming influences include Bill Berry of R.E.M., Keith Moon of The Who and Ringo Starr of the Beatles.
The Whigs' CD "Mission Control" further explores the band's garage-rock roots with tunes like "Right Hand On My Heart," which is released as a 7-inch vinyl with a pre-order of "Mission Control" on isound.com. "Like A Vibration" sounds as though it should be on King of Leon's "Youth & Young Manhood," and "Already Young" is a hard-rocking jam that is sure to get the crowd moving. "Mission Control" will definitely be a contender for one of the best albums of 2008.
All of these songs are available on the bands MySpace.com page for preview.
With the band's simple, catchy melodies, including aggressive punk, pop psychedelia, thunderous drums and bottom-heavy bass, "Mission Control" has all the workings of a great garage rock album that will put the Whigs on the national radar.
The band will appear on "Late Night with David Letterman" on Jan. 28.
Pre-order "Mission Control" at isound.com to receive the band's limited-edition 7-inch vinyl single of "Right Hand On My Heart."
Reach the reporter at: nathan.bolek@asu.edu.
