On their debut album
“Light upon the Lake” Chicago-based Whitney conjured up a beautiful and quaint atmosphere that feels larger than life in its simplicity and
effortlessness; a fantastic and melancholic folksy tale driven by some
excellent guitar work and instrumentation, superb song-writing and the hottest
falsettos to come out in pop rock music in quite a while.
Julien Ehrlich and Max Kakacek formed Whitney
after their previous band’s (Smith Westerns) breakup and they couldn’t have put
together a better breakup record than “Light upon the Lake” because at its core
this this album is the ultimate breakup album but it doesn’t lean towards the
sad, bummed out side so much; instead it focus on a far more reflective
approach on failed relationships, learning from your mistakes and trying to
look up to the future the best you can although, there’s always this sense of
nostalgia and sheer melancholy all over the record that makes it feel almost
conceptual in a way when you look at each song and analyze them collectively
instead of just individually.
Whitney keep their song writing simple but
fresh and very touching; that doesn’t make for album that lacks anything on the
lyrics department, though; actually, it’s quite the opposite. It is that juxtaposition
of beauty and simplicity that makes this record unforgettable, relatable and
ultimately irresistible; even if very pronounced falsettos aren’t up your
alley, chances are “Light upon the Lake” will win you over in one way or
another by the end of the record; either it is sonically or lyrically because
the album excels at both.
The album opens with one of its stronger
tracks, “No Woman” where verses like “I've been sleeping alone; I've been going
through a change; I might never be sure, I'm just walking in a haze; I'm not
ready to turn” combine with some lush instrumentation; delicate keyboards,
alternating acoustic and electric guitars and a two-words chorus that quite
honestly feels more intense than most choruses this day despite its lack of
words. Whitney plays as if they had been playing together for many years (and
in a way they have, at least some of them) and that self-confidence is very
tangible on this record and especially on tracks like “No Woman” but that’s
just the beginning; there’s plenty more to come.
On the second track “The Falls” the
instrumentation is definitely peppier and less melancholic than it is on the rest of the
album; it’s probably the liveliest the band gets along with “No Matter Where We
Go” but the lyrics are not entirely in the same tune. Drummer and singer (yes,
drummer and singer, how cool is that?) Julien Ehrlich sings rather melancholic
lines like “Til the falls ran dry; I was lost inside morning light; I took too
much to slow down; these days and nights I can’t be found” backed up with some
rather brisk instrumentation and the
contrast works out wonderfully not only here but also as the record goes on.
Then “Golden Days” and Dave’s Song” come next
and you’ll be inevitably hooked. “Golden Days” is easily one of the best songs
to come out this year: the horn arrangements towards the end are simply awesome
and the “na na na” outro, definitely one of the tracks’ trademarks, crushes
through your heart in a way that feels both very intense but also very soothing;
like the picture of a lion licking its wounds alone. The instrumentation here also sticks out; Whitney are a 7 piece band and “Golden Days” is possibly the only track here where it sort of seems
that way because there’s room for everyone to shine equally and also because
the vast majority of the album is actually so intimate that you’ll probably
want to google check if the band really is a 7 piece act after having listened
to any of their songs and I’m not saying that in a derogatory manner but rather as a compliment taking into account the quiet and contemplative context of the album. Lyrics like “Oh don’t you save
me from hangin’ on; I tell myself what we had is gone and after all that I put
ya through, I get knocked out like I never knew” are filled with genuine emotion
and nostalgia and if I were to choose one single that represents this album the
best, conceptually, that probably would have to be “Golden Days”.
“Light upon the Lake” is truly an ode to
Americana and pop-rock music from The Byrds’ era and songs like “Dave’s Song”
provide some of the folksiest moments on it in addition to a very strong chorus
that rounds things up quite well (“I know it's hard to give up when I don't
want to be saved; Take me in your heart again and I know how to keep you hung up
but I won't do it again; Oh I know I wish you were my friend”).
There’s a lot to be said about how good this
album continues to be. “On My Own” and “Polly” are lovely and intimate and
again, written with highly relatable sensibility and there’s also a monster
single like “No Matter Where We Go”, which is again, another strong candidate
for best song of the year. “No Matter Where Go” is the song you play on to make
through the winter and melt even the thickest snow; it’s a track to go to bed
to with the hot beverage of your preference while you enjoy your time cuddling
with your couple or fluffy pet and if that doesn’t sum up what this album is in
a nutshell, nothing will. This song is the jingliest track on an album full of
jangly moments and the guitar really shines on here; it suits the vocals and
sets the tone of the song masterfully. You’ll find yourself smiling and singing
along to the infectious chorus “I can take you out, I wanna drive around with
you with the windows down and we can run all night” all the way through the
entire song.
I couldn’t have thought of a better ending to
this album than “Follow”. Great performances, even greater vocals and moving lyrics
like “I pray your troubled mind remembers when it’s coming to an end at least
the rain won’t come again” that prove that when you’re honest and passionate
about what you're doing, no matter how simple it migth seem, it will always feel
meaningful and especial.
There’s an instrumental passage “Red Moon” that
quite frankly feels rather anti climatic and I wish “Light Upon the Lake” was
as good musically as it is lyrically because is very well-written but for me,
personally, when it comes to the instrumentation it feels flat even taking into
account the song’s context and it sounds as if they were more worried about
wearing their influences on their sleeve than trying to craft something that
matched the rest of the album the way the lyrics deserved because, again, the
lyrics are nice. Other than that, my only complaint is that tracks like “No
Matter Where We Go” and “The Falls” are criminally short considering how
frickin’ good they are and I wished they just kept on and on but I guess that’s
more of a compliment than an actual complaint depending on how you look at it.
“Light upon the Lake” is in many ways the
quintessential pop-rock album: it can make you smile, cry, think, and dance and
sometimes all of that in the same song; It’s reamarkably poignant and impeccably crafted, especially considering
this is merely the band's debut LP;
it’s the type of album that instantly takes you to a different time and place
soon as you start listening to it and the sum of all its part makes for an experience
that feels truly magical and enchanting in a way few albums in modern pop-rock
music nowadays can match or recreate.
You can
listen to some of the album’s best songs in the link down below!
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