Whoopi Sticks

We are Spunk [EP] (2016)

John Gentile

Whoopi Sticks’ debut EP opens with guitarist David HD screaming through a microphone like a police captain about to unleash the firehouse, and then drummer/vocalist Lindsey Warning jumps in spits out vocals that are equal parts Bikini Kill and X-Ray Spex. It’s an exhilarating start for a record that that pays homage to the early punk scenes without devolving into history worship. If anything, this band sounds fiery and fresh.

“I don’t wanna be a person” is about a rejection of all things human and Warning hisses and howls in the combustible, cagey style of Poly Styrene. But, where the EP really succeeds in that the band sounds like they mean what they are saying and the things that they are addressing are contemporary issues. “Hedonist v. The Subjective” finds Warning getting crazier and crazier until her voice cracks, almost like a madhouse patient- she means what she’s saying. Meanwhile, David HDD and Bassist Theo Hoover-Shaver cherry pick from the English and Olympia punk scenes to forge an attack that is powerful in its simplicity. These are the kinds of lyrics that need to be delivered over a smashing, catchy punk beat.

Whoopi Sticks are off to a great start. Whereas most upcoming bands do one cool thing on their initial single or EP, Whoopi Sticks are already covering multiple basses across these three tunes. It’s rare that a band can pay tribute to the early “rules” of punk while also showing that the point of early punk was that there are no rules. Whoopis Sticks nails it.