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RECORD REVIEWS

THE WHIGS: Mission Control [ATO]

To anyone surprised that the lo-fi catchiness of the Whigs has blossomed into full-blown rock majesty on their second album, remember this: The band is a power trio from Athens, Ga. The charmingly shambolic approach of Give ‘Em All A Big Fat Lip, the group’s 2005 debut, was less an aesthetic declaration than a function of necessity. With the big-budget Mission Control, produced by Rob Schnapf (Beck, Elliott Smith), the Whigs make it clear that their intent is simply to distill the better elements of the last 20 years of rock ’n’ roll into a powerful concoction. This means a little chamber-pop flavor here (“Sleep Sunshine”), a little open-chord Replacements riff there (“Hot Bed”), some anthems (“Already Young”), some Clash homage (“Production City”) and, in the case of the title track, all of the above. Schnapf’s production hand deftly manages to resolve the differences between the band’s fist-pumping ambitions and the dueling influences of roots rock and indie jitters. Like a more muscular and dangerously drunk frat-boy version of Band Of Horses, the Whigs occasionally hit on moments of poignancy (“I Never Want To Go Home”), but most of their time is spent reinventing the classic-rock wheel in a rather self-aware fashion. [www.atorecords.com]

—Jason Ferguson