The Whigs fit right in with much the same sound and fury that signified a violent rejection of Eighties gloss and trite celebration of prosperity. What set them apart though was an interrogation of masculinity that went beyond Cobain and Vedder’s Oedipal rage (railing against wicked stepfathers and trying to crawl back to mother). Like The Bad Seeds rising from the ashes of The Birthday Party, the Whigs became the archetypal Men in Black (Suits), years before Interpol or The National, but also sharing bar-space with The Hold Steady, who may have aligned themselves more with Springsteen’s blue-collar rock, but shared a lyrical preoccupation with the demi-monde of bar-flies and addicts as a kind of purgatory. Until those other bands came along, the Whigs often seemed like U2s evil twins...
Posted on: Fri, 11 Apr 2014 10:42:21 +0000
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