The Whatnot - What You Make Of It Review
Posted by Josh Nason on 03.08.2004
A great pickup from an up-and-coming rawk band…
Anyone that has a friend in a band or has that buddy that knows someone in a band has probably heard this quote: “You gotta check out this cd! I know the (insert musician here)” which launches in the classic back-and-forth that we’ve all been through. You half-smile and say, “Sure…why not?” full well knowing that what you’re about to hear is probably as appealing as Fran Drescher doing karaoke. This happens more to me than most, because as a music director for a professional sports team, you get a lot of crap sent to you in the mail.
Imagine this situation: one of my employees asking me to check out his band, The Whatnot. Now this is a touchy one: listen and like it (good thing) or listen and hate it, hurting his feelings in the process and making work even tougher than it should be. Imagine my excitement when I checked out this three-piece project and was absolutely thrilled with what I heard. The Portsmouth, NH, based group just put out their first cd, What You Make Of It, which is one of the best first efforts from a band I’ve heard in quite some time.
You mean you’ve never heard of The Whatnot? That’s probably a safe estimation as they’ve primarily played shows in the Northeast, doing the college circuit and smaller bars throughout the New Hampshire/Massachusetts/New York area. However, in the short time they’ve been together as a band (a scant few months over a year), they’ve opened for Howie Day at the University of New Hampshire and put out their 10-track debut, a very easy listen if you’re into the acoustic-guitar driven sounds of Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson or Guster, the band The Whatnot get compared to the most.
Following the time-honored tradition of putting one of your best songs as the opener, ‘Feeling Fine’ opens up the 40-minute ride, letting the listener know within seconds what this band is all about. The simple sounds of guitarist/lead vocalist Patrick Curry are appealing because they’re not overdone but also not too folky, a trap that a lot of bands with no drummer can fall into. There is a definitely a very low-impact feel on the album, but in an industry where everything can seem bombastic, there’s something to be said for that.
Other highlights on the disc include the band’s first single, “Leaving Here,” which features some great harmonizing from Curry and bassist Matt Junkin. One of the album’s major selling points is the way Curry, Junkin and percussionist Chris Mathews seamlessly harmonize on the various tracks. Also notable are “Pedal” which has a great closing instrumental and “Thunderclouds,” which provides a nice upbeat close to the disc. I’m a firm believer that the first and last tracks are the most important on a cd because you want to make a good first impression and leave them wanting more. The Whatnot accomplishes that on both counts.
But this isn’t a perfect-cut diamond either. There’s not a lot of grit in the lyrics, which mostly focus on relationships and don’t stray much from the love lost/love appreciated/love regained formula. The songs all begin with a guitar intro, which does get repetitive after a while. Listeners who aren’t a fan of the bongo sound will probably turn off because, well, there’s a lot of bongos on the disc. But it’s all things the band can work on, with the biggest challenge being the much-anticipated and nerve-wracking sophomore effort that every musician goes through. From unreleased material to the overall focus of the band, there’s no reason to believe that future releases won’t improve upon this solid foundation.
So if you’re looking for a challenge, you should buy this cd from a relatively unknown band. If you live in the Northeast, check them out live. In music, it’s often tough to cut through all of the advertised “You should listen to this person/band” vibes we get on MTV and from record labels. Trust me – if you’re looking for something different but strangely familiar, buy The Whatnot’s What You Make Of It.
And if you’re wondering, the employee that handed me this disc never even asked me to do a review. This band is just that good. You can check them out at www.thewhatnot.com or at any of their 14 upcoming shows in the next six weeks.
The 411: A stripped-down Dave Matthews sounds for under $12? Sign me up. Led by some excellent guitar work and harmonizing, The Whatnot’s What You Make Of It scratches your cd player’s itch.
