Whiskey Fever - Gonna Wake Up This Whole Town

Whiskey Fever

Gonna Wake Up This Whole Town
self-released; 2015

3.8 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Jack Mattingly had a similar realization that I along with countless of other people had when he was a young kid. He wanted to be a musician. Fast forward to present day and Mattingly is the frontman for Whiskey Fever. The group comprised of Jack Mattingly (vocals, guitar), Andy Brown (drums), Dylan Dalgarn (bass) and Mike Lamb (electric guitar) recently released their first full-length album entitled Gonna Wake Up This Whole Town. The music is a mix between folk, pop and rock songs, which are well written and easy to embrace.

The songs are unpretentious fun and mostly revolve around stories that are easy to follow along to. Take for the very instance the very first track “Send It Back” which is an infectious upbeat song about the end of a relationship. The vocal hook, guitar work and just about everything else is pure ear candy. It’s arguably the best song on the album.

Mattingly often has witty, humorous lyrics. On “Pretty Boy” he sings, “Pretty boy don’t you know you have an ugly heart/you sacrifice being nice for a lonely part/and loser girl don’t know you it doesn’t pay to be smart/you won’t put out but still say you’re a slut at heart.”

Mattingly is just as effective with an acoustic guitar as he is with a full band. The melancholy “Painless” is on par with some of the other highlights on the album. His voice always sounds good in the mix but you can really hear all the nuances, which make him a good singer. As the album progresses “Life’s Too Short” and “Lipstick and Writing” were highlights that you won’t want to miss. 

Mattingly as of right now might not have the legions of fans he dreamed about as a young boy but his dream of becoming a talented musician has come to fruition. Overall, Gonna Wake Up This Whole Town is a consistently solid record that contains a number of good and a few great songs.

Become A Fan

reverbnation

Tweet