Maybe it’s the Peter Hook-style basslines, the floating keyboard strains or the rat-tat-tat drumbeats, but The Whip really reminds us of New Order. And when the lyrics start sounding like Ian Curtis, our Joy Division neurotransmitters kick in as well.
Such legacy pilfering would be annoying if The Whip, from Manchester like their predecessors, weren’t so darned good at it. And they’re not without their own sound, which borrows more from techno than those bands did.
Maybe this is the best way to put it: If the White Stripes are the new Led Zeppelin, The Whip is the new New Order.
Check out their video for "Divebomb," which finds the band trapped inside a huge mechanical drum machine. The song is a bit "Fletch Theme meets Axel F," but it’s solid enough stuff and the video’s sort of neat. As always, your mileage may vary.
The Whip MP3: "Trash"
ps the album’s better
