Published on Apr 4, 2001
Ever since No Doubt struck it big with their album
Tragic Kingdom, I’ve been waiting for someone to pick up on
the ska influence that ran as a vein with No Doubt. Surely someone
would eventually try to repeat the success by capitalizing on the
danceable sound of this form of reggae.
Boston-based Lovewhip has done just that, relying on the
shuffle-like beat of ska and a bare-bones horn section. Their disc
Whip It Baby! tries to beat No Doubt at their own game, even
throwing in some African rhythms, but in the end, the only words
one could say to the group would be, “Nice try.”
It’s not that vocalist/guitarist Erin Harpe and crew don’t have
the style of the music down; rhythmically, they do a very good job
laying down a groove that even Frankenstein could dance to. But
what they are lacking is a sense of magic that lifts the music to a
new level. In the end,
Whip It Baby! sounds like a carbon copy of what other groups
have already perfected.
There are moments where such a synthesis of Carribean rhythms
and African beats and chants does succeed. “Buana Juju” has an
infectious style to it, making sure that the listener is locked in
for the length of the song. It almost has a Paul Simon-like quality
to it, especially in the guitars. Maybe that’s the best way to
describe what Lovewhip is trying to accomplish here: No Doubt
trying to record
Graceland.
If only all the songs were as successful as “Buana Juju” is. For
the most part,
Whip It Baby! is filled with half-developed ideas that could
have been great, had one thing or another been augmented. A
different lyric style here, a better beat there, stronger vocals
(or at least with greater range) than what Harpe offers in other
places, the list goes on.
Tracks like “Oh Dear Jehu” and “Come Down J.J.” do, admittedly,
get a little better with repeat listens. But despite all the band’s
efforts, the bulk of these tracks are missing some intangible thing
that would kick them up to the next level. This is what is
difficult about reviewing a CD like
Whip It Baby!: it’s too easy to say something’s missing, but
it’s damn near impossible to say just what that something is. It’s
a style, an attitude, a feeling – something you can neither put
your hands on nor attempt to fake.
This doesn’t mean that
Whip It Baby! is a bad release; repeat listens do show the
promise this group has. (Clocking in at just over 30 minutes, this
disc at least lends itself to multiple listens.) But what Lovewhip
needs to do is to hunker back down, work on really crafting their
style, and coming out of the box the next time with a sound and
groove that would blow a hurricane back into the sea. Until then,
Whip It Baby! is an okay attempt, but it seems to suggest
that Lovewhip could have done so much more.