Kansas City's The Whips have always managed to deliver emotion in infectious rock, and their latest single, "Together in Agony," suggests they're just getting started. Singer Max Cooper, still riding high from a four-chair turn on NBC's The Voice and time spent on Team Michael Bublé, is fronting the charge with his brand of openness meets grit vocals, along with guitarist/vox Max Indiveri, bassist Quinn Cosgrove, and drummer Miles Patterson.
Penned by Indiveri and assembled in the close quarters of the band's 10x10 bedroom studio, "Together in Agony" holds that tension of being in a relationship that's falling apart, but you can't quite seem to leave. In the first, the lyrics feel like a private confession, which pulls listeners into an internal moment of self-reflection and then opens out into a straining rock crescendo, illustrating the battle between comfort and self-respect. It's the type of song that sticks for hours after the last chord fades away, inviting repeat listens not just for what it sounds like, but for the emotional honesty woven into every line.
The Whips navigate nuance and punch with ease. Cooper's piano work has an understated elegance that underpins the track, while Indiveri's warping guitar textures add layers of tension and release. Patterson and Cosgrove solidify a rhythm section that carries the song from hushed introspection to soaring release, never losing sight of its human center.
"Together in Agony" sounds like a band that has fully arrived, unafraid to be in the moment's discomfort and to let the song linger. As a sample of what's yet to come from them via Wichita's Midtopia, it's assured proof. The Whips are making rock that, in addition to sounding good, feels good in the gut. This is a band to watch, yes, and also to feel.