By OLIVIA OLSON

Contributing Reporter

After their 2005 debut, “Give ‘Em All A Big Fat Lip,” garage-rock band The Whigs made a name for themselves, as well as gaining an extensive host of fans, most notably in the form of Rolling Stone magazine. 

The Georgian rockers released their latest album, entitled “Mission Control,” on Jan. 22. 

If “Big Fat Lip” was a straight shot of whiskey, then “Mission Control” is a glass of Irish cream; it goes down easier, but it still packs a serious punch. 

The vocals, with few exceptions, are sweeter and cleaner than the consistently bombastic singing front man Parker Gispert has made into an art. 

Sometimes they become all too clean, particularly on tunes such as “Never Want To Go Home” and “1,000 Wives,” which seem to go unnoticed due to the lack of Gispert’s characteristic vocal instability.

“Vibration” works excellently as the opening tune, wasting no time delving into a guitar riff that recalls The Killers and The Strokes, owing to its operatic rock quality and persistent rhythm. 

The title track comes as a pleasant surprise as the very last on the album. The song’s diversity is especially impressive, changing from sweeping to staccato one second to the next. 

It is the ideal grand finale for “Mission Control,” indicating the growth that the young band has made and their newfound ability to create a truly respectable rock anthem. 

The true merit of this album lies in the fact that it effectively represents what The Whigs do best — building momentum in every song until you fear for its life. 

The band is able to give the sense that they just barely have a hold of their raucous and ravenous music and at any time could let go and watch it spin madly away. 

Thankfully, they never do.