Whinge: Something’s Quite Not Right
(Cracked Ankles Records)
Vinyl | CD | DL
Available now here
4.5 out of 5.0 stars
After releasing the excellent I Think I Found A Lump single recently Whinge arrive with their debut album Something’s Quite Not Right and it’s definitely not normal says Wayne AF Carey…
Whinge. Great name for a crazy band of misfits who their label boss proclaims as ‘fuckin crackers’. Then again he would know being in a band of weirdos himself. Which is why they’ve clicked, along with label mates Michael, Yaang and the up and coming fury of dead things. You can stick your normal up your arse and come along for the ride with this bizarre collection of ‘More DIY than B&Q’ tunes you can pop a knee to.
Opening track 6 Years is a Krautrock psych belter which gets you right in the mood for this set of sweaty bizarre tunes that kick your head in. It builds into a crunching spiky guitar riff before going all prog yet brittle and bruising with the soundscapes. It’s a glorious track. I Think I Found A Lump is pure garage glory with hints of Idles, early Mudhoney and a whiff of Lemmy. It’s an abrasive number that goes off in shitloads of directions. A dirty mess. Coketown is a funky little bastard which gives you an early Talking Heads vibe fucking around with Gang Of Four. The bassline shines through with the mental oop North shouty vocals and crashing drums melding with more abrasive guitars adding to the whole lovely car crash of well executed noise.
Happy is another funked up piece of CBGBs late 70’s sound with added anger from Aaron’s barmy comedic vocals barked out like a demented mongrel with some more spiky jagged guitar and funky bass, complimented by mental chaotic controlled drums. Promise (Five Years) starts with moody keyboards and a drumbeat that sounds like it’s going to explode into a techno classic. It’s a barking mad step away from the earlier tracks that has nods to LCD Soundsystem going ‘dance doom’. Foreboding echo bass that’s all Hooky with a great slice of guitar that nods to Joy Division / New Order before the rock kicks in. It’s subtle brutal stuff at it’s best. (I’d Rather) Punch Myself In The Face is another bruiser that takes a pop at Queen with the rasping lyrics squeezed out in anger. It’s a disjointed angry fucker with urgent noise and scratching guitars that grate your head into a psych zest.
Now it just gets plain weird. Track 7 – Secret Noise is just 11 minutes of pure nonsense. I’ve been informed it’s one of the group listening to the album whilst commuting and just recording the noise they hear along the way. Remember when Blizz recorded their Greatest Hits and there was fuck all on it? That’s where we’re going. It’s an experiment in madness. You can hear the group echoing through headphones in the background five minutes in. It’s actually unlistenable which I think was the plan. Closing track Horsegirl is a right fucking laugh from the beginning horse neigh. An angry fucker that blasts your head like a track from Idles – Brutalism. A proper dig at posh c**nts on horses. It’s a messy piss taking bastard that ends with a rush of cracked up adrenalin. Top as fuck.
Catch Whinge live with your Valentine’s sweet heart on 14th February at The Rat & Pigeon, Back Piccadilly. Free event with dead things and Shindig here
Words by Wayne Carey, Reviews Editor for Louder Than War. His author profile is here
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