Chicago indie rockers Whitney returned last August with their sophomore effort Forever Turn Around. The album received critical acclaim and even led Chicago’s mayor to officially declare the record’s release day, August 30, Whitney Day. While the band had to cancel the remainder of their tour behind the album, Whitney appeased fans by sharing two covers earlier this year, “Take Me Home Country Roads” with Waxahatchee and “Rain.” But the band didn’t stop there. Whitney ended up recording several more covers which they will share in the upcoming record, Candid.
Whitney announced Candid Wednesday by sharing the track “Hammond Song,” which is a cover from The Roches 1979 debut album. Along with “Hammond Song,” Candid sees Whitney reworking some of their favorite tracks that similarly fall outside their musical comfort zone.
In a statement, drummer and singer Julien Ehrlich detailed how the band came to fall in love with “Hammond Song:”
“This could’ve been as simple as saying we really love these songs and we love our bandmates and making a covers record just felt right but it truly became an exploration into how we can evolve as a band going forward. We both discovered ‘Hammond Song’ because Chris Coady sent it to us years ago as a reference for recording when we were making the last Smith Westerns record. It became a song that was always around for us and then we showed it to the rest of the band. This cover is the longest Whitney recording ever and pretty much everything you hear on it is totally live, save for the horns and the slide solo. For a five minute song, if you mess up one part you have to do the whole thing live all over again.”
Listen to “Hammond Song” above and find Whitney’s Candid cover art and tracklist below.
1. “Bank Head”
2. “A.M. A.M”
3. “Take Me Home, Country Roads” Feat. Waxahatchee
4. “High On A Rocky Ledge”
5. “Something Happen”
6. “Strange Overtones”
7. “Hammond Song”
8. “Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying”
9. “Rain”
10. “Rainbows And Ridges”
Candid is out 8/14 via Secretly Canadian. Pre-order it here.
Source: https://uproxx.com/indie/whitney-candid-covers-album/