New West

With a bratty attitude and snarling guitars among crooked, yet catchy melodies on their breakthrough Give Em All a Big Fat Lip, The Whigs secured their rightful place near the top of the gritty indie rock heap. Now, four years and two albums later, the band shows maturity and wisdom on this album full of powerful, mostly hard-rocking, hooked-laced, power-pop songs that also touch on elements of psychedelic folk and garage rock. The album boldly opens with eight-minute plus “Staying Alive,” complete with incredible guitar meltdown and random horn flourishes reminiscent of ‘70s-era Rolling Stones. There are plenty of gritty rock interludes, arena-ready riffs, quiet/loud escapades. The band even manages to insert strings and pedal steel guitar without sounding cheesy or losing focus. Enjoy The Company takes the next step in the group’s evolution – and it’s a giant one.