Whitney
★★★★
Small Talk
SPINNING TOP. DL/LP
Chicago duo return with self-produced fourth album.
For a band who rarely feel the need to turn up the volume, whose music is so elegantly dovetailed together with polished corners and burnished edges, Whitney make some uncompromising demands on their listeners. You need to be on board with Julien Ehrlich’s high expressive voice, like Justin Vernon in a ruffled cabaret suit, for a start; a significant tolerance for champagne-bucket guitar and between-the-moon-and-New-York City orchestrations is also essential. Deal with that, and Ehrlich and guitarist Max Kakacek are all soft power on Small Talk, showing off their Lemon Twigs facility with retro recreation (Dandelions; The Thread) or a Lambchop-like tendency to keep a soulful glint in their eye (In The Saddle; Won’t You Speak Your Mind). It’s not always easy to get emotional purchase on these songs, but the hint of something moving beneath the immaculate surfaces makes the challenge worthwhile.