Light Upon the Lake is easily the most unassuming debut album of the year. Whitney's effortless sound evokes echoes of The Byrds, The Band, and George Harrison. The band's vintage sheen is deftly supported by horns, strings, organ, and harmonies, with silvery guitar lines reflecting light off the water as the sun taps into golden days past and present. The record soundtracked my summer as drummer/vocalist Julien Ehrlich (formerly of Smith Westerns) raised his winsome falsetto into bittersweet tales of youth and regret.
We saw Whitney open for Wild Nothing at The Loading Dock which, literally, is a small loading dock buried in the city. Their collective musicianship far outclassed the cramped surroundings and it was charming to see how unaffected they were as a group. The wistful horns of "No Woman" transcended time and place and "No Matter Where We Go" bounced its way into endless listens with my car windows down. The whole album washes over you like a summer's day with nowhere to go.
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