It hasn’t been long since Chicago outfit Whitney released their fourth LP, “Spark” last autumn. Even so, in the wake of that record’s singularity, colour and intimacy, the band bring forward “For A While,” a track they’ve been playing live for over seven years. They’d written it around the time of their 2016 debut, “Light Upon the Lake”, but had never given it a proper studio recording. The song, in its purest form, is an emblem of the first two Whitney records: sun-soaked and brimming with clean, airy guitars that contort delicately.
Drummer and vocalist Julien Ehrlich’s singing is in peak form, as he races across the octaves of a lush falsetto, while Max Kakacek plucks richly beside him. Though “Spark” took big swings at electronic glory, here we get Whitney going back to the basics. It’s not a signal that they’re retreating back to their old sound for good; rather, it’s them giving a beloved live tune its day in the sun. And how lucky we are to watch “For A While” swallow it whole.
So glad to finally hear a studio recording of the song we fans have all come to know and love as “Rolling Blackouts”! This was a highlight of several live shows of yours I’ve seen – the perfect encapsulation of a peaceful summertime thunderstorm!
“For A While” by Whitney, out now on Secretly Canadian.
The Fat Angel Sings 