Whitney’s buttery acoustics and boyish charm is a recipe for nostalgia. The Chicago duo have a relatable awkwardness one associates with memories of first-crushes and prepubescence.
On their second album, vocalist/drummer Julien Ehrlich and guitarist Max Kakacek navigate existentialism in their late-twenties with a pocketbook of lonely love songs.
While not entirely wide-ranging, the instrumentals are unsurprisingly exquisite as Brad Cook (Bon Iver, Hand Habits) and Foxygen’s Jonathan Rado (Weyes Blood, Father John Misty) assisted on production.
Written with a delicate hand, it’s a little Sufjan Stevens with a little Chicago soul. Rhododendron holds its own as a purely instrumental jazz intermission, while the album’s ace card Before I Know It features a stunning riff fusing brass and electric guitar.
Erlich’s soft drone delivers emotions of anxiety and acceptance where bright keys maintain a sense of enlightenment. Vulnerability is their strength; on Used to be Lonely Ehrlich sings: “I’m afraid you’re letting go / Cause the only life I’ve ever known used to be lonely”.
Where loneliness and romance are co-dependent, Whitney make room for reflection and warm optimism.
