Mission Control is Athens, Georgia’s band The Whigs second album, and first for mid/major label ATO Records, their debut, Give ‘Em All A Big Fat Lip, was independently released, and then re-released through ATO Records after a few months which gave the band a much wider audience, even seeing release in Britain. The trio are: Parker Gispert, (Guitar, Lead Vocals), Julian Dorio, (Drums), and Tim Deaux, (Bass), although a couple of friends helped with bass duties during the recording of the album after original bassist Hank Sullivant left, but it isn’t very noticeable as the bass is often excellent. The Whigs tend to play 80s and 90s inspired alternative rock in the vein of Dinosaur Jr., Buffalo Tom and The Replacements, Superchunk and Archers Of Loaf. Happily, their slightly sloppy sweaty summer in the south sound manages to stand alongside, rather than look enviously up at, these iconic bands.For the most part The Whigs use two different styles of songwriting throughout the album, either slower mid-tempo rockers that have a reflective mood, ('I Never Want To Go Home', 'Sleep Sunshine', '1000 Wives', 'I Got Ideas'), or harsh, fast and raucous anthems, ('Like A Vibration', 'Production City', 'Right Hand On My Heart', 'Already Young', 'Need You Need You'). The raucous tracks are things to behold and cherish when they are at their best. 'Like A Vibration' is a chugging distorted guitar, the bass carries the track’s main melody and there is some fist pumping snare and tom action from the drummer. Gispert’s vocal is a slurred, gruff thing that knows how to take a melody and create a hook out of it, the “Like a vibration” of the chorus sees the last syllable eeked-out to great effect. 'Right Hand On My Heart' has a ragged glory, huge hook and excellent musicianship. The drums and bass know each other intimately and the guitar lines are large, crunchy, zesty, full sounding and played with controlled aggression. The other best example of raucous beauty is 'Already Young', a heavy hitting heavy metal start, followed by an elastic rhythm and melody. Gispert clips his vocal delivery, and the song itself has a good hold of dynamics, dropping in little pauses, reining everything in, before lashing out again at full speed . The rebelliously rocking and fuzzy guitar, the swaggering vocals and the lyrical refrain of “Coz I don’t care/I’m already young”, calls to mind sweaty people with hair plastered to their foreheads writhing about at a basement show.The slower mid-tempo rockers with a reflective mood were in evidence on the band’s debut, but here they have managed to be more concise and to add new instruments and elements, whereas before they tended to sprawl and become monotonous. For 'I Never Want To Go Home' everything sounds like a cool mist during the verses, using a clean guitar tone and reserved but sloppy vocals, the bridges and choruses benefit from a piano being dropped into the mix and a calm measured melody. There is a declarative-ness in the vocals, but no arrogance, and some good varied drumming. The bass again carries the melody for '1000 Wives', with some scaled back guitars and slower drumming. Gispert’s vocals are drowsy and have a slight echo, there is a tinge of psychedelia from the guitar and an organ joins in for the last minute, with Gispert making references to dreams.The Whigs have refined their sound, making the good and less good things better than they were before. Their sound isn’t anything new, but they seem to have taken time and developed the way they wanted to recreate the sound of those bands mentioned previously, rather than mindlessly aping like a lot of modern post-punk bands do. Don’t let the fact that they are signed to Dave Matthews ATO Records put you off, this is some truly brilliant rock music. 86%mp3:> The Whigs - Right Hand On My HeartLinks The Whigs [myspace]