Album Review: Whitney Shed “Light Upon The Lake” With Demos

Whitney’s Light Upon The Lake: Demo Recordings feels like a grand homage to Gilbert O’ Sullivan’s “Alone Again Naturally”. If you have never heard that track it is a delightful bridge into the depths of solitude.(Yes, that is dramatic!) Yet, as you dip into rhythms like one would their feet into a lake, the rippled lyrics twist and muddle your reflection to make beauty become a deliverer for something you try so hard to ignore: your loneliness.

Light Upon The Lake: Demo Recordings is a reissue of Whitney’s highly acclaimed debut of the same name. Yet, by transforming their tracks into simply chorded acoustics, you realize that grassroots that drive this band. Whitney truly is about the heartbreak and hope that divides every moment of your life, which is why this album feels so golden and “down to earth”. ‘“The Falls”, “No Matter Where You Go”, and “You And Me” use Max Kakacek’s guitar melodies like a jumprope from which vocalist/drummer Julien Ehrlich can leap into unfiltered thoughts and emotions. There is a purity/ potency to the demo versions of their debut that, like Gilbert O’ Sullivan, make Whitney feel like the most up-tempo band for the down-trodden.

Ehrlich’s falsetto feels like a kite brushing through winds of wishful thinking and somber situations. Whether we have a reason or not, sometimes, the “lonelies” creep into our heart to make even the sun seem like a “bright thing” rather than a cosmic force. As Whitney drive their arrangements with the striding ease of, again, a nice, lake dip, you ponder upon the solitude of being you, but the rare beauty of being able to be you with someone else. Whitney’s Light Upon The Lake: Demo Recordings Comes Out On November 10. Click Here For More Information.