Sometimes missing the start of a band’s career can be a good thing. Tuning in around 2002 worked out pretty well for me and The Mountain Goats. Sometimes it allows the listener to breeze through earlier struggles and development and get straight to the band in its prime. Unfortunately for The Whigs and me, In the Dark is not an ideal jumping off point. All of the excitement was in the early years of raw energy that regularly sold out shows in Atlanta, a stone's throw from their hometown of Athens, GA. Their first two albums captured that energy pretty well and were well received by most critics. But, in 2008, The Whigs toured with Kings of Leon in support of KoL’s Only by the Night, in what has turned out to be something of a Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come situation for the Athenian band. Early acclaim and gigs opening for U2 turned the Kings’ enterprising Youth & Young Manhood into overblown, arena-ready rockers that lacked their former personality. Two years later, it seems The Whigs have accepted the torch passed from the Kings. In the Dark is not just overproduced, it’s processed and pasteurized. It’s studio American cheese.
Coming in three albums deep, as I have, The Whigs’ catalog feels unfocused, even scattered. “Technology” and “Half the World Away” helped earn The Whigs Rolling Stone’s 2005 nomination as "perhaps the best unsigned band in America." It’s hard to remember that charming, quirky rock band now. Earlier tracks felt infused with the influences of too many rock groups to list, but the erratic flow of the music kept them somewhat interesting and even became kind of distinctive in its own way. But, as happened with Kings of Leon, all of the rough edges have been sanded down into streamlined rock riffs and overly indulgent production. It’s hard to tell whether The Whigs’ career up to now bears more resemblance to the Kings’ or Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, but, really, it’s an age-old story. Money, a little notoriety, and access to some fancy studio tricks have led many astray. (I’m pretty sure that’s what happened to Zack Attack on Saved by the Bell—we can only hope that it won’t take a racecar accident to bring The Whigs to their senses.)
To be fair, it’s not all bad, just mostly bad. “Hundred/Million,” the opener, makes it seem, just for a minute, that this latest effort will be sharp, a stronger development of their earlier stuff. Unfortunately, this is about as good as it gets. You have to believe even Nickelback is scoffing at the snarling, overblown choruses of tracks like “Someone’s Daughter,” “Kill Me Carolyne,” and “I Don’t Even Care About the One I Love”. Even singling out those three tracks is a little arbitrary when the problems are universal to the album. The more you listen to this record the more it all homogenizes. “Dying” is about the only attempt at something beyond generic rockers, but even that track's basically just an extended crescendo-ing chorus that only serves to emphasize the faults of the entire record.
On second thought, this was probably a great place to start listening to The Whigs. Even the first two albums, though certainly entertaining, were hardly groundbreaking. There was some definite potential, but it all needed a lot of work. It might have been the parting of founding member and co-songwriter Hank Sullivant that sent The Whigs in this direction, but whatever happened it amounts to blown potential. Had I been a fan of the back catalogue, this album might have come as quite a blow. To listen to all three at once is to realize that The Whigs are, or were, at best a flash in the pan. If anything, I feel validated in my previous ignorance, and can rest assured that Rolling Stone is still usually wrong.
Track List:
1. Hundred / Million
2. Black Lotus
3. Kill Me Carolyne
4. Someone’s Daughter
5. So Lonely
6. Dying
7. I Don’t Even Care About the One I Love
8. Automatic
9. I Am for Real
10. In the Dark
11. Naked
