The Whipsaws "Ten Day Bender" (Independent 2006)

It’s grim up North. Just the way we love it!

Fans of Slobberbone and Drive-By Truckers owe it to themselves to track down this little beauty sent down from the frozen north of Anchorage, Alaska. Southern gothic must be a state of mind because, even on the Arctic edge, they know how to spin stories of killin’ and drinkin’ and fightin’ and Evan Phillips’ stoner sagas of druggy desperation come alive on every track of this extraordinary debut. From the heavy guitar duelling on ‘Bootlegger’s Blues’ and ‘Contraband’ (written by drummer, James Dommek) to the tender restraint of “Sweet Marie’, this band does everything and does everything well. ‘Petersville’ opens proceedings confidantly with a slow burner and things just catch fire from there.

Like ‘Rust Never Sleeps’, there’s a natural electric and acoustic divide here and, whether it be a quasi-heavy metal avalanche of sludgy guitars or the delicate interplay between traditional instruments like fiddle and lap steel, the band sounds searingly ‘live’ either way. In true Southern Rock tradition, the rough and the smooth compliment each other, both driving the lyrics home with either a punch or a caress. Three years of lugging amps around every bar in the American northwest have paid dividends because the energy and excitement in these tracks has nothing to do with production. This is the sound of a thousand nights sweating on stage and then freezing in the van listening to something like ‘The Dirty South’ driving through a blizzard to the next show. Amazingly diverse and accomplished for a debut. If they were from anywhere but Alaska, they’d be huge.

Date review added:  Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Reviewer:  Robin Cracknell
Reviewers Rating:
Related web link:  artist's website