Hey, a female fronted Chicago rock band? There aren’t many of those about – well, obviously there are but I do like to indulge in a bit of sarcasm from time to time – but would the curiously named wht.rbbt.obj impress with their EP “Whiskey Hotel Tango”?
Actually, they do. The rock solid drumming is there, as you might expect, and the riffs have been lined in metal to keep these five songs close to the ground where they can do the most damage. So far so good, I hear you say, and this band’s muscular credentials are never in doubt but what might make this band more than another reinvention of rock’s seventies heyday. Well, that something might well be the way in which all that is no doubt wearing black leather gains a soulful, almost ethereal, quality thanks to the voice of River Rabbitte who weaves a spell that evokes the memory of Grace Slick as much as she does Joss Stone. It’s a sincerity thing and that’s the thing you really want to hear.
“Whiskey Hotel Tango” has more style than you might reasonably expect of a rock band and, while wht.rbbt.obj clearly know what the people like to hear, they have stamped their own personality on this EP and that makes them more than worthy of your attention.
Best song: Oddly enough, the ballad “Keep You Like A Secret”.
Verdict: Easily makes weapons grade.