BnB Review: The Whip – Wired Together

Written by Manu Ekanayake

Indie - electro

A properly infectious piece of indie electro from The Whip, with some block-rocking beats courtesy of ace producer Jagz Kooner. If you don’t like it, we’ll have your copy – it’s the best thing we’ve heard in ages!

Wired Together is actually The Whip’s second album, but as BnB is usually more concerned with DJs than bands you’ll have to forgive us for being a little late to the party. So let’s embrace the fact that we showed up at all (fashionably late, obviously…) and just agree that The Whip are a seriously talented outfit. What we’ve got here is an album with no discernable filler… and a band that possess the Holy Grail: music that works as well (or better) in a club as it does at a gig.

And that is due to the fact that the musical skills of The Whip’s bandmembers (especially drummer Fiona Daniel and bassist Nathan Sudders) meld so perfectly with the production skills of Jagz Kooner. Yes, the one-time Weatherall protégé and producer to the likes of Primal Scream (XTRMNTR and Evil Heat), David Holmes, The Infadels and Radio 4 has given The Whip the kind of beats that most guitar bands can only fantasize about.

So as that combination of indie and dance is something both band and producer have in common, it’s no surprise we were hooked on our first listen – especially on Secret Weapon, which is all lovely b-lines and cocksure lyrics, with some wonderful drumming in the mix too. We’ve been hammering this since we heard the first tunes from the album sampler about a month ago, never mind the neighbours and their treats of legal action and/or a good kicking if we don’t turn it down. Movement is equally anthemic, with lyrics cockier than the lads from Oasis on a day-trip to Columbia circa 1995, but the sub-aquatic bassline adds a depth that Noel and Liam never dreamed of. Play this loud and it’s guaranteed to blow the doors off any party – guaranteed.

Riot is a banger that’ll have the indie kids dancing ’til dawn, while Intensity is another good example of a band that is as confortable raving as gigging. Even slower tracks like Slow Down and opener Keep Or Delete are slick pieces of confident musicianship. Cracking stuff all round, basically.

1. Keep Or Delete
2. Secret Weapon
3. Shake
4. Movement
5. Intensity
6. Riot
7. Metal Law
8. Master Of Ceremonies
9. Best Friend
10. Slow Down