Afghan Whigs
Up In It

THE REVIEW

After the raw debut "Big Top Halloween," the Afghan Whigs were signed by Sub Pop in 1989. The raw and frenzied mix of post-punk and classic rock of that album had convinced America's most enterprising label to sign Greg Dulli's gang. After a first single - "I am the sticks" - endowed with exquisite soul flavors, the nuances and influences of black music were somewhat watered down: the adventure in the realm of grunge continued with the album that more than any other justifies the connection between the Cincinnati quartet and that movement. The common thread of "Up in it" was a roaring execution power (emphasized by Jack Endino's production), a granitic wall of sound capable of evading the traps of the more rhetorical hard rock then in vogue: elements that certainly fall into that sensibility.

The most intellectual of the quartet's fans always have an allergic reaction when their favorites' name is associated with the notorious grunge: but listen to "You my flower" or the bridge of "I know your little secret" or "White trash party": certain harmonic progressions can easily be inserted into that perspective, particularly for the curare-coated guitar parts of Rick McCollum, not to mention the dazzling "Now we can begin" (available only in the vinyl version).
The link between the Whigs and grunge was probably the influence of Dinosaur Jr, whose ramshackle post-punk approach is clearly echoed in a track like "Hated." Then, certainly, the Cincinnati quartet had many arrows in their quiver and were perfectly capable of shaping their torrid sonic matter with sufficient personality. The rhythm section, flexible and anchored to John Curley's bass, often produced dynamic funky rhythms (listen to "Southpaw" or "Amphetamines and coffee") and McCollum himself knew how to change the score, enlivening the excellent "Hey cuz" with a remarkable slide work, for example. Greg Dulli, for his part, was beginning to emancipate himself from the role of a Paul Westerberg-style screamer: his primordial, almost animalistic scream begins to rest on very happy and solid sonic insights. "Retarded" perfectly captures the group's potential and constitutes their first masterpiece. An electric and unsettling ballad, in which Dulli describes ("Television's gone and I'm alone with Lucifer") a descent into hell: sex, decadence, and religion, all themes that would later be revisited in the group's imagery. Another peak of the album is certainly the already mentioned "I know your little secret", which starts as a soft ballad, only to explode into a whirlwind of guitar tamed by Dulli's spirited screams.

Excluding a couple of less successful episodes, "Up in It" remains a tough and lively album: a preparatory step towards the masterpiece "Gentlemen."

Rating 3.5