Georgia’s The Whigs give their hard-charging, garage rock a bit of a melodic revamp on their third album, In The Dark. Producer Ben H. Allen, who has twiddled knobs for Gnarls Barkley and Animal Collective, is credited with furnishing the trio with some artistic wiggle room in the form of more peppy, syncopated rhythms.

“Hundred/Million” kicks off the album with the dance-floor ready thump of Julian Dorio’s drums, backed by the incessant grind of Tim Deaux’s bass and Parker Gispert’s plucky vocals. “Black Lotus” channels The Killers’ brand of frisky, pop-rock and the beat stays revved-up through the lovelorn lyrics of “So Lonely.”

The Whigs still give up that good ol’ fashioned, dive-bar sound. The band is unapologetically rock and roll on tracks like “Someone’s Daughter” as Gispert mulls the merits of fleeting one-night hookups over wiry guitar and thrashy drums. Fans can satisfy their straight-up guitar rock jones with songs like “In The Dark.” There are also some great moments with the brooding “Dying” and the self-deprecating and heartbreakingly honest “I Don’t Even Care About The One I Love.” But the inventive lyricism of “Kill Me Carolyne” is lost in its stock, mall-ready rhythms for the Hot Topic set and “Automatic” is forgettable and bland.

The lyrics are largely uncomplicated musings about disastrous love and lust but the band manages to broaden its musical style without compromising its core identity. A solid next step in the band’s evolution and not a bad listen either.

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