BY EVIE MASON

Whiskey Myers’ new album “Whomp Wack Thunder”, written by Cody Cannon and produced by Jay Joyce, embodies true American rock and roll with a hint of country flare. The album itself contains multiple stand out tracks, infused with a southern rock sound that elicits the atmosphere of a smoky American bar, and if that’s your vibe – this album truly provides.

 The opening song, “Time Bomb”, encapsulates the sound and feel of the rest of the album – a foreshadowing of distorted guitar, rock vocals and catchy lyrics. However, the track that I prefer is indeed “Tailspin”. This song oozes the typical Eric Church sound that so many love, but much heavier, and with more grit. It is clear to see that it was produced by Jay Joyce, producer to stars Lainey Wilson, Eric Church and Cage the Elephant – but this is not necessarily a criticism. It emulates all the strengths of this style, while still being individualistic. 

Personally, I definitely prefer the more mellow, slow, rock-ballad style tracks like “Rowdy Days” and “Born to Do”, which align more in style with their hit “Broken Window Serenade”. “Rowdy Days”, possibly my favourite track of the album, is soulful, with meaningful lyrics about aging and time, with a memorable guitar solo outro which makes me want to hear it live. The track is more typically country than the rest but still has a ‘crunch’ about it.

“Icarus” brings variance to the album, and the chorus is catchy, but I personally don’t love the spoken-rap style melody of the verses. This may just be personal opinion, because there are not many rap songs I tend to enjoy, but I just don’t get the fusion of rap and country rock here. It is, however, possible to appreciate why others might. 

The intro of “Midnight Woman” sounds very Fleetwood Mac-Esque, which is never a bad thing to me! “Break These Chains” is also another stand out track to me. As a whole, the album is strong – maybe a little repetitive in sound at times, but as I said earlier, if you enjoy this southern country rock vibe, you’ll love “Whomp Wack Thunder”. “Born to Do” and “Rowdy Days” are certainly my favourite tracks – I would and will add these to my playlist. With distinctive vocals from frontman Cody Cannon, crunchy guitars from the band and songs with overall edge, it is worth a listen.