The Whines – S/T 7″ (Track by Track review)

The Whines debut 7″ has my ears hurting, but not in a good way.

1. Insane Ok – 3.0/10 (Remember those practice tapes that you hear of teenagers when they all get together for their first practice after just buying their instruments?  That is what this sounds like.  A very blah bass line sticks out during even the most palatable segments only to be masked by very “grade school”, irritating singing .  This song fails to go anywhere but in a repetitive circle of what can only be described as post punk?  Do I hear a hint of Modest Mouse influence on the guitarist?)
2. Starving Dog Art – 2.5/10 (I am glad this song is only 1:45 long.  It tries to be punk but it comes across as a whiny (no pun intended) redundant mess.  They approach this song like they do this whole 7″ shooting for the lo-fi angle and it comes out like a middle school punk band who recorded on their tape deck with a mic set up in the middle of the room.)
3. Indian Homewrecker – 4.0/10 (Easily the best track because the vocals are kept under control for the most part.  Yes it is again, very juvenile and repetitive but it doesn’t have the same grating qualities of the previous tracks.  Amazingly The Whines music is at its most interesting moments when the guitar meanders a bit from the main riff.)
4. Lines Between Us – 3.0/10 (They sound like they were influenced by Nirvana on this track and they want so badly to let out all of this “angst” but they fall well short of even being catchy or entertaining.  Once again Lo-fi recording is used to cover up lack of quality song craft and to use the term “punk” or “post punk” would be an insult to those genres.)

Bottom Line – 3.1/10 (I do not recommend this 7″ to even the biggest fans of bands like “Waaves” or “No Age”.  It has no redeeming quality and while it is not awful for the most part, it is not good at all.)