The summer of 2023 is around the corner and Kansas City power poppers The Whiffs have just released the soundtrack.
The band’s second full-length ‘Scratch ‘N’ Sniff‘ offers the perfect vibe for all of your warm-weather pursuits. Over 13 tracks, The Whiffs sip from a sweet cocktail of classic power pop like the Raspberries, Big Star, and Shoes, and spit it all out with a Tim-era Replacements looseness.
It gets started with the bounce of ‘It’s Not Over‘, followed by the power pop swagger of ‘Shot Thru‘, a track that has been stuck in my head for a week now. The pure pop of tracks like ‘Wanted‘, ‘Pretender‘, and ‘Don’t Know What Else to Do‘ are like icing in the middle while the jangly ‘Won’t Go Away‘ leans into Byrds/Jayhawks or even Roy Orbison territory. There are no skips on ‘Scratch ‘N’ Sniff‘, right down to the Mats bluster of album closer ‘Verlaine‘.
Ultimately this is rock and roll so there are a lot of influences on display here, but The Whiffs are masters at making it all their own and this sound never gets old anyway. For almost 40 minutes you’ll be feeding off the irresistible riffs and catchy melodies while working on your tan.
Out via Dig! Records(US) & Bachelor Records (EU).
