One Track Mind

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Throughout their short career, The Whigs have never wanted for critical acclaim. After self-releasing their debut record, Give Em All A Big Fat Lip, in 2005, Rolling Stone theorized that the band “may well be the best unsigned act in America.” The designation wouldn’t last long, as ATO Records signed the group the following year, re-releasing Fat Lip and serving as their home to this day. Their success continued with 2008′s Mission Control, an album that garnered The Whigs supporting tour slots with Kings of Leon, Tokyo Police Club, The Kooks, and Band of Horses. Not bad company, eh? Now the Athenians (as in Georgia, not Greece) are busy getting ready to unleash their third LP. Entitled In the Dark, it will be released by ATO on March 2, 2010.

In the Dark‘s title track is notable for its stylish rock ‘n roll exterior, with melodies which sound both polished and organic. There is something timeless about the chorus hook; it could just as easily have come from 1979 as 2009. While there is an undeniable slickness to much of “In the Dark,” it is a sound The Whigs wear well, as with the finer moments of like-minded contemporaries such as The Raconteurs, Franz Ferdinand, or The Strokes.

These comparisons also underscore the mainstream appeal The Whigs bring to the table–”mainstream” not being used pejoratively, but rather as an indication of the band’s potential reach. It’s easy to see how the band would be embraced by fans of Rolling Stone and Band of Horses alike. For their part, The Whigs try to mitigate this frictionless sheen to some degree by including a couple of grinding instrumental breaks during the course of the song, giving the track a nice balance and preventing it from ever sound too radio friendly.