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Not every band needs politics. But name your band the Whigs and you kinda do, along with, if not brimstone, at least some fire. Especially when you name your debut full-length Give ’Em All a Big Fat Lip. Unfortunately, there’s something nonchalant about this trio from Athens, Georgia. Everything is in its right place, and at times it effortlessly conjures My Morning Jackets’ breezy dynamics and the Replacements’ bristly demeanor. But these Rolling Stone favorites err in being too competent, too well-rounded, and too subject to audience approval after gigging the material for several months before self-financing a recording with former UGA football player/recording engineer Billy Bennett. Over that time they’ve become a captivating live presence, but there’s only a hint of their new shambolic charm in the studio. Like the Strokes after their debut, the Whigs seem a little too detached, a little too studied. It’s as if they’d done the musical equivalent of viewing film to prepare for a game. The results are insular, unchallenging, overwhelmingly mid-tempo and just good enough to remain O.A.R./Guster-style tailgate favorites.
The Whigs + Mute Math + Jonezetta | Axis, 13 Lansdowne St, Boston | November 5 | 617.228.6000
