Out: June 20
Words by Kris Peters
Tweed Heads rock outfit The Whiskeys are no strangers to HEAVY, having premiered their debut single Hoedown through us back in February last year.
Back then the band was just getting into the swing of life in the music industry machine and were full of hope and vigour, and the fact they have waited almost 16 months to release a full body of work since unleashing their first track on the world speaks volumes for their patience and determination to get it right the first time around.
So it is I sit down to listen to The Whiskeys debut EP, Old Soul Young Blood, a collection of five actual songs with a couple of bookends, the first of which is called Lonesome Dual.
From the moment the haunting strains of guitar fill the air, there is a sense of ominous danger. Picture a couple of gunslingers facing each other off in a wind-swept desert town full of unsavoury characters, and that’s the world we have just entered. But before the guns start shooting, Lonesome Dual trails off into the distance, leaving a lingering sense of nervous serenity that is a different, but also effective, way to start an EP.
The song that started this journey, Hoedown is up next and launches you headfirst into a world of sleaze and debauchery with a high hat run on drums from Josh Larkin ushering in a chunky as fuck guitar riff that sends things from 0 to 180 real quick.
While having a fast-paced underbelly, it’s the chorus and meat and potatoes of this track that keep the tempo moving. It’s a subtle mixture of hard rock, radio-friendly rock and punk ruthlessness that shifts gears whenever it likes and leaves a trail of smoke and dust in its wake.
Suddenly, a piercing scream from vocalist/guitarist Benny Whiskey upsets the status quo, and the harder edge comes to the fore in a rapid-fire display of everything that is right with music. It’s tough, uncompromising, and rebellious from start to finish. And what’s not to love about that?
Places is listed next and has to be on point to top Hoedown, which, judging by the drum roll and subsequent slide sounding guitar, it appears to be. Another scream of anguish from Whiskey gets the ball rolling, and you can almost taste the rush of Jack Daniel’s as he soothes into his vocal duties to create a blues-style number, complete with fat guitars and purposeful intent.
Places rises and falls with ease, at times threatening to erupt into full-blown chaos, but shows enough restraint to merely flirt with the idea rather than explore it fully. The song is kept on track courtesy of a tempered, flowing guitar riff that journeys into psychedelic territory in doses before regressing back to the blues/rock swagger that simmers beneath.
Great track!
No Time To Feed The Poor sounds a bit harsh, but obviously The Whiskeys have been busy focusing on this EP, so I guess it’s excusable. A swirling guitar riff builds nicely before pausing momentarily for a dose of unhinged silence before returning with even more menace as Larkin joins in and the last train to hard rock city leaves the station.
This has a Winery Dogs type feel to it, except far more on the harder rock side of the fence. Vicious guitars sweep haphazardly through as the drums maintain a steady beat that occasionally speeds up to keep pace with Whiskey’s urgency.
If there’s one standout feature so far on Old Soul Young Blood, it’s that The Whiskeys certainly know how to craft a song before bringing it crashing down in a blaze of glory that suggests a somewhat schizophrenic nature to their music. Which, in the modern age of an increasingly conservative approach to music, is a fresh and welcome commodity.
Break Away fires up with a quick drum smash before easing into gear and revealing a more restrained musical approach. I wouldn’t call it a ballad per se, but so far it’s definitely the most mellow track on the album. The pace increases as you would expect, but each time it borders on the harder side of things, it pulls back into a more groove-oriented and potentially radio-friendly number. It’s catchy as fuck and while still having the meatiness and contempt that makes music great, still manages to tread water enough to have a more cross over appeal.
A chunky breakdown towards the end gives the impression that The Whiskeys were maybe even testing themselves with a song like Break Away, but they bring things to a close decisively before giving too much more away.
EP closer Vultures opens with an almost echo of sounds that could be anything, but my money is on some sort of party or drinking session. From there, it delivers an almost stagnating piece of music filled with reverb and fuzziness that almost feels like an LSD trip gone wrong. It certainly doesn’t seem to be following a set path, which is a fitting way to finish an EP that bounces from pillar to post in a maze of sonic confusion that somehow works and works extremely well.
It is a strange way to finishup, but also not totally unexpected from these guys, and if nothing else leaves you wondering just what The Whiskeys will come up with next.
Which I suppose is exactly what the boys were trying to do…
