Album Review: The Whiffs – Another Whiff

There’s a deceptively languorous feel to this debut album from Kansas City’s The Whiffs that belies the energy and industry going on underneath that seemingly plain exterior. Like the proverbial swan, it glides along real smooth, but the legs are going like fury down below. The accompanying PR mentions Tom Petty, and that’s not a bad starting point to describe this kind of beautifully crafted Americana. The Whiff‘s sound hints at breezy, timeless American pop that ranges from The Monkees through Petty to REM and beyond to the whole raft of post-1990s guitar pop bands. But comparisons are never fair and can raise unreasonable expectations in listeners. The Whiffs rise above comparison by demonstrating, again and again on this outing, that they have a massive self-bel...