The Whigs – Enjoy The Company

New album from the Georgia guys, Enjoy The Company, sets out to see that we do just that. A 10 track record with unmistakably American cover art, it’s easy to see what you’re in for before you’ve even heard a bar.

And when opening track Staying Alive starts, your pre-conceptions get a bit disjointed. Yes, there is a distinct Americana riff, but Parker Gispert’s vocals are very heavily reminiscent of Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil. Thankfully, the strange accent wears off as the song and album progress, but it’s certainly something to get you paying attention.

As is the epic eight-minute track length. Never a dull moment throughout however, there are plenty of brass instruments and a big ol’ guitar solo to keep you going. It’s a great mixture of rock n roll madness.

Although the album was recorded in rural New York, it has a real southern, open road feel to it. From Waiting, with its opening driving riff to the aptly named Summer Heat, it’s definitely an album you should be driving along to with the windows – or top – down at a decent speed on a long summer day.

Slightly more down-tempo tracks Gospel and Couple Of Kids don’t detract from the summer feeling either. The slower pace only enhances the lazy day mood. The latter is also a maturing notch for The Whigs, talking about progressing a relationship to that stage. It’s a track of clarity, a theme which progresses to next song Thank You; proving that as you grow up, things seem simpler and that life doesn’t have to be complicated when you’re in love.

Album closer Ours, although half as long as Staying Alive, certainly packs just as much of a punch. Starting off with a quiet guitar riff with a whisper of Gispert’s vocals sneaking in, slowly the strings, guitars and drums creep in building the song to a great crescendo. Fittingly, Gispert growls the word ‘goodnight’ repeatedly before an epic guitar riff and thrash of drums takes over, creating a sound The Who would be proud of.

Enjoy The Company is, in its entirety, a fantastic record. Well put together with two massive rock n roll numbers bookending the glorious summer rock n roll content within, it’s hard to find fault here. Even the lyrics and song titles seem so fitting to their respective place in the album. Although the heatwave has died down a bit at the moment, this is definitely an album you need in your life this summer – from long drives to barbecues in the evening or a lazy daytime picnic, Enjoy The Company is the perfect soundtrack to it all.

www.thewhigs.com