In July 2005, the band recorded their first album, "Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip" at Ross Crane House, a fraternity house in downtown Athens with engineer Billy Bennett. They used equipment purchased on eBay, which they resold after recording was finished to help offset the cost of production. The album was released independently in December 2005 and in April 2006 saw the band described by Rolling Stone Magazine as "perhaps the best unsigned band in America." Following this media exposure, in July 2006, The Whigs were signed to ATO Records by Jonathan Eshak who had earlier seen the band play at the Pianos venue on Ludlow Street in New York, and "Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip" was re-released on September 19, 2006.