WHIGS & RAKES - Acclimatize CD
A young trio from Perth in Scotland with Taylor on guitars, Harrison on drums and Kitty on vocals and “some guitar” - notice something missing? That's just the beginning....
They open the album with a short instrumental – about 30 seconds of tranquility – then you are woken up with a start by Harrison's drumming coming crashing down on you like a ton of bricks as Taylor comes in with a deep bass run on the electric guitar before exploding into a burst of riffing expanse before dropping down to cascading chords in the background, at which precise point in comes singer Kitty, immediately grabbing your attention with a stunning vocal that's pure Scottish indie and exactly the same effect on you as the guy out of Twin Atlantic, only female. Wasting no time, she lets the lyrics flow with a surge and a lurch as the drumming thumps and crashes and Taylor's now producing all manner of layers on that guitar that sounds like there's about three of the things on the go. The song climbs and climbs, increasing intensity and tension, Kitty letting the title-based chorus soar out with repetitive bliss, as the whole thing introduces you to a brand new sound from what you already think is going to be a seriously promising debut album.
Barely pausing for breath, you hear the sound of a guitar riff in the far-off distance as they lead you on to “Take”, then, with a thunder, the drums crash in as the guitars move upfront with authority and the song explodes out of the starting blocks as Kitty provides another sea of lyrical excellence over the now fallen-back guitars that are pouring out ringing charm over the rolling drumming, as it al moves back and for the between this beauty and the blazing riffing, Kitty just striding through the powerful chorus with utter determination and menace. There's a sudden burst of wild bass-end roar from the guitar making you wanting more before Kitty takes the song even higher, hollering out the title with purpose and venom, that vocal combining hypnotic, powerful, purity, snarl and grit all in one amazingly distinctive voice. As you think it's climbing so high it's gonna go out of sight, Taylor stops it abruptly with “the riff” and, in a superb example of this band's dynamics, with just one solid tap on a cowbell, the song then roars towards its finale with jaw-dropping playing and singing. “Veren Terrace” decelerates the pace as Kitty gives us an arm-waving anthem while Harrison is using the whole kit to produce some amazingly complex but solid drum work to accompany what is essentially a power ballad but like nothing you've ever heard before as Taylor's also doing some work veering between stabs of guitar density, solid building riffing and bursts of sound that, for all their power, exercise restraint and yet are a perfect foil for the song in a way that you'd never expect. As the vocal ends, Taylor on his own gives us the start of this heady, memorable, cyclical guitar riff as band and singer erupt to give us the chorus as you're surrounded in a thunderstorm of guitars and drums, that riff just swirling around your head as the two musicians lift off like a rocket and sound like an army – it's immense, it's mighty and it's magical. “Blinking” accelerates the pace and once more there's a combination of heady chords that are so memorable, a racing vocal from Kitty and Harrison's drumming solidly propelling the whole thing along on a track that's got urgency combined with commercial appeal, a vocal that is just so mesmerising with Kitty's distinctive style so perfect for the unique sound of this band. Through a song filled with dynamics, power, commercial appeal and rolling thunder, they give us yet another rock solid performance. “Feel The Cold” veers somewhere between the surge and the restraint of the previous two songs with a vocal that flies high above another memorable riff from Taylor's ringing chords as Harrison's laying down foundations that boom, crash and ripple. Mid-song, they launch into this section where the band shudder as Kitty spits out words that are heavily laced with echo and the effect is awesome, totally in place and then the whole song and band take it off into the upper reaches of space with a multi-tracked vocal playing out the harmonies of the chorus, before the riff returns and they take on another verse with even more bite and passion, only to end abruptly. “Silhouette” features dramatic rolling drumming, twangy bursts of guitar and low-end vocals that have an air of darkness to them, as the whole song has a much gloomier feel to it, all brooding chords and rolling thunder drumming. But with a chunkier riff from the guitar, Kitty starts to climb as the guitar resonates at the bass end and the whole thing threatens to climb, but they take it back and just flow with ferocity, the lyrics of a great song spiralling around your head as the band drop back for a twangy guitar-led break only to have the whole thing then suddenly start to take off as this huge cloud of electric guitars rises out of nowhere and takes the deeper riffs and drumming upwards, only then for it to fall back to earth as Kitty's distinctive and utterly hypnotic voice takes it to the end. At this point, somewhat amazingly, we're only half way through the album – and already it's been a thrilling, individual and unique ride through a new world of songs, playing, singing and arranging.
“My Jaw” revolves around many layers – the rolling drumming, the chiming guitar leads and powerful riffs as Kitty's vocal takes you along for the ride, the whole thing erupting into the choruses like an exploding sun, before taking you back to the verses. As this all moves back and forth, they come to a point where it all drops right back – then, from the distance, a guitar riff starts to climb, as, amid slowly climbing drumming, this memorable, heady, swirling guitar riff cycles round and round and round, then with a crash of cymbals and solid drumming, the tension increases as it all takes off like a rocket with the three of them on urgent wordless vocals that spiral round and round as the whole song just drives upwards and upwards taking the listener to an absolute adrenaline-ride of an end that you'll want to repeat long, loud and often. “Come On Talk” opens with a heavy metal riff that rock bands would killfor, before Harrison provides suitably heavy drumming and, when Kitty explodes into the picture on driving vocal excellence, this is a band playing massive sounding metal in a way that no other band has done before, her lyrics hollered out without losing any of the vocal purity that she exudes by the truckload as the shouted vocal hooks reign down over the juggernaut of a backing from the two musicians, the whole song eventually going nuclear for a totally awesome finale. “Forest” sensibly lets us down gently from the maelstrom with a song that's just gorgeous as a swings and sways over rippling guitar and slowly lurching drumming, the vocal a cascade of words as the song intensifies, rises...and falls....ending on vocals that sail, harmonies that are hushed and a lead of heartfelt emotion. “Scottish Weather” bounces along on a cyclical high-end guitar cascade as drums drive and the singing soars through, as they say, a “poppy little number”, but this one changes density from summery to stormy and back again as befits its title and subject matter, a slice of indie pop done the Whigs way. “Black Cat” opens with choppy drums and a repeated guitar refrain as another track bounces along and Kitty's vocals flow into a briefly hollered hook before settling back tot he main body of the song. But after the next chorus, right out of the blue, the rhythm changes as Taylor's guitar surges into this dirty riff that totally takes you by surprise in a great way. Then the song starts to roar as Kitty's vocal is slightly “treated” before the next wave of riff comes along and the song progresses like rolling thunder to an abrupt end. “Stairs” starts as a ballad and ends on a wave of guitar textures that slowly fade above the distant drumming. The album ends with “We're Not All Human Here” is a slow builder that gathers the force and rises up to become this song that threatens to erupt but drops back down as the vocal surges with passion and the guitars strengthen like an approaching tornado – and then, with a red hot burst of heated guitar textures, the drums rumble in, the vocal lead and harmonies chant and intone the title in repeated fashion as the pace accelerates and the song lifts off....only to drop back down to lurching drumming, exquisite chiming guitar, a shudder of drums and then the guitar rings out like a peal of bells and ends – perfection!
I need say no more – it's an album - and a band - that's out on its own but will last forever – you know what you must do....buy it now.