5674 - THE WHIPSAWS (2012)
THE WHIPSAWS
''THE WHIPSAWS''
NOVEMBER 2 2012
49:34
1/Took My Tears/4:22
2/Wait It Out/4:22
3/Cave In/3:58
4/Coralee/3:35
5/Tried Not True/4:42
6/Shutdown Checklist/6:36
7/Confidential Focus Group/1:34
8/Reno/4:27
9/What Are the Chances/5:43
10/Lay Down By Me/3:44
11/Daylight/6:31
Alaska is a land of extremes — near endless hours of darkness in winter, and the midnight sun of summer. It is also a place of isolation, even in the state’s largest city. Many things just never find its way north — musical trends included.
This, however, has proved advantageous for the Anchorage-based Whipsaws. While the popular musical styles of the moment get batted around like a tennis balls across the net of the Lower 48, The Whipsaws have relied on their own intuition (and the scattered records collections and obscure radio broadcasts they happen upon) to become a hard-driving rock band, albeit, one with some stomp and twang and the ability to mesh that with solid story lines and timeless tales.
"We’re kind of sheltered from what’s going on Outside," explains lead guitarist Aaron Benolkin, who also plays steel guitar, banjo and sings. "Alaska has kind of kept us away to develop on our own, and we’re better off for it."
The Whipsaws cast off the misguided music industry notion of categorization and, in true Alaska pioneer spirit, see boundaries as something to cross, not a place to get held up. Hard and aggressive, crunchy and raw, twangy and roots-deep, subtle and heartfelt — these are all accolades that accurately reflect upon The Whipsaws, driven by attitude, belief and imagination-capturing lyrics.
"If anything we were just kind of experimenting with different sounds, lost pieces lingering in our subconscious. But it ended up being something completely ours," says guitarist and vocalist Evan Phillips of the band’s approach.
"Collectively we’ve found a liberty that doesn’t constrain us to play just one style. If it sounds cool, we’re just going with it and taking chances," Benolkin adds.
And like previous albums, The Whipsaws eponymous third album (due in early 2010) demonstrates the band’s desire for continual growth, but in a manner that means making music with enough integrity that they’d not only want to listen to it, but crank it up so the world can share.
The Whipsaws also represents the solidification of the band’s songwriting approach into a true team effort.
On the band’s first two albums, Ten Day Bender (2006) and 60 Watt Avenue (2008), Phillips came to the table with the bulk of the mostly-completed songs. Drummer James Dommek, Jr. (best known as Junior) contributed a few songs, and everyone chipped in to round out the sound. That is all in the past.
"This is a totally collaborative record," Dommek asserts. "We collaborate on all levels of songwriting, music, lyrics. We all work together to refine the songs, and Ivan comes up with great arrangements."
That would be bassist Ivan Molesky, who joined the band just prior to the recording of 60 Watt Avenue and immediately applied his indie-meets-Motown groove to the band, adding yet another dynamic to an already diverse sound.
"I think outros are my forte," Molesky jokes, "but I tend to be a groove guy. I brought some of that deep bottom end into the rock and roll thing."
The Whipsaws took 60 Watt Avenue to the Lower 48 for three lengthy tours in 2008. The spring tour culminated with appearances at the SXSW Music Festival. Their final gig was as backing Tim Easton (who performed on 60 Watt Avenue) at the Continental Club where Lucinda Williams joined them for a rendition of Bob Dylan’s classic, "Meet Me in The Morning."
Williams was straight to the point about The Whipsaws.
"This is awesome, this is true, earth, down to the roots, bottom of the soul, fucking grease, fucking blues and rock ‘n’ roll right here. ... I’m so fucking impressed. It’s hard to impress me, ya know what I’m sayin’?"
Riding that high, the band immediately made plans to record an EP of new material generated during the tour. Yet, before a solid footing for the project could be established, The Whipsaws were indefinitely put on hold. An injury sustained by Evan, a former guide on America’s highest peak, Denali (Mt. McKinley), had resurfaced, making it painful to walk, let alone perform.
"It was a really big eye opener for me and the band," Phillips says of the forced break.
He still isn’t able to lift his amp, but is "feeling excellent and recharged" right now. Phillips adds that the time off from touring and playing — seven months to be exact — may have actually been a blessing. The band members all had time to dabble in other projects, and reunited well rested, and with renewed vigor and inspiration.
"Coming together again we all kind of felt this great energy to really make something happen," Phillips adds. "We worked hard for seven years, and to just have to stop when we had this momentum… I think we harnessed the fears and anxiety into making a truly powerful record."
Besides devastating hooks, alluring melodies and thinking man’s lyrics that say it without saying it, The Whipsaws bristles with a creative sheen, intense depth and the tight musical interplay of a band excited to be back on the beat.
"It sounds like four guys who’s taken every little bit of music they’ve absorbed over their lives and are throwing it down," Dommek says. "This record is going to show that and prove that we are onto something bigger than ourselves."
~Glenn Burnsilver, September 2009
REVIEW
The glorious, musically satisfying comeback of a band that was just about to break through to a wider audience a few years ago when their lead singer Evan Phillips was taken out of commission and live performance for seven months because of an obstinate injury. We're talking about THE WHIPSAWS, a hopeful combo from Anchorage, Alaska, a region that has so far not been known for its plethora of talent in the Americana/alt.country genre. After Phillips's recovery, the band got back together, played some shows, wrote new songs and recorded this album. It's not an accident that the album is self-titled like debuts usually are. This is a second coming. No question: The Whipsaws is a success, it ties in with their earlier output and yet it's a reboot - Alaska is back to claim its place on the map of rock'n'roll!
Anchorage, Alaska? We've all heard of these special places in the States that heroes like the Drive-By Truckers, Bottle Rockets, Son Volt, Whiskeytown, Blue Mountain & co. come from: Athens, St.Louis, Raleigh, Oxford or simply Austin, Nashville and Memphis are towns with a certain guitar flavor to them. The Whipsaws have no ties to these places, they have developed their sound independently and grown into an original, distinguished band in their remote corner of the USA. 2008 was the first time they left their home, working as backing band for Tim Easton, touring all across the USA and leaving quite a mark, particularly at SXSW in Austin. None other than Lucinda Williams was full of praise for the band after they shared a gig at Antone's. Blue Rose Records were equally blown away and took the opportunity to sign the Whipsaws practically right from the stage.
A prudent investment: 60 Watt Avenue was exactly the second album people had been hoping for from a band that had made a lot of insider's ears perk up with their locally released debut Ten Day Bender. Critics called them the "Bottle Rockets of Alaska" or "the Drive-By Truckers of Anchorage". Or rather: Fantastic music that sounds like it came from south of the Mason-Dixon line but must have found their way up north. Ten Day Bender was proof they were able to deliver that kind of music, 60 Watt Avenue demonstrated a development to a higher level of songwriting and production quality while maintaining their edge and guitar-driven aesthetic.
Then came the above-mentioned compulsory break - while band leader, songwriter, lead singer & guitarist Evan Phillips had to work on his recovery, the other band members - lead guitarist, pedal steeler, banjo and mandolin picker Aaron Benolkin, bassist Ivan Molesky and drummer James Dommek jr. - worked on other projects. But according to the motto "what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger" the four of them found a way out of the hole and booked the Water Music Recording Studio in Hoboken, New Jersey to record Whipsaws there. Yo La Tengo, Amy Rigby, Gov't Mule, die dB's, Steve Wynn, the Feelies and Willie Nile are some of the other artists who have worked there previously.
The opener "Took My Tears" foreshadows much of what is to come in the 45 minutes: loud, electric rock music with a prominent 70ies flair, a straight and hard-working rhythm section and an unleashed Evan Phillips who may not be able to carry his own amp again but who sings with a passion and provides - together with lead guitarist Aaron Benolkin - a wealth of powerful guitar riffs. "Wait It Out" starts with pedal steel in alt.country mode a la Whiskeytown & co. before numerous guitar overdubs turn it into a Southern rock jam with a full-on finish. On "Cave In" Phillips follows in Chris Robinson's footsteps as a rock shouter before he creates a poignant singer-songwriter/troubadour atmosphere on "Coralee" with its acoustic guitar/pedal steel/bass & drums arrangement. "Tried Not True" is an exquisite hard'n'heavy number with a nice buildup and intelligent twists. The album's center piece is the 6:36 minute-long "Shutdown Checklist" which allows the instrumentalists to let loose in almost a prog-rock manner, supported by a two-piece horn section. After a short synth/steel/noise interlude the guitars are back to the fore on "Reno" vying for attention with Pink Floyd-like keyboard sounds. "What Are The Chances" is a beautiful No Depression-hymn on the highest Whiskeytown level with a moaning pedal steel, Bonnie Whitmore's harmony vocals and a surprise break after four minutes when the guitars and organ seem to fly away. Yes, obviously we have arrived at the album's home stretch Americana section: "Lay Down By Me" is another ballad with a very melodic folk flavor thanks to mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitars and harmony vocals.
And at the very end is another highlight. "Daylight" in all its 6.30-minute glory, with measured drumming, ringing electric guitars, smart keyboards, twin guitar solos and Evan Phillips' Jeff-Tweedy-like vocals - the song sounds like Wilco in their finest moments, reminiscent of "Impossible Germany" or "One By One". Perhaps "Daylight" is the best example of what a close-knit unit the Whipsaws have become.
DoWnLoAd