Whitney
Forever Turned Around

America, as we know, is big.
Very big.
Incredibly big, as someone I know would say.

Musically, we also know that you can comfortably divide America into two major poles. The East and the West. The Atlantic coast and the Pacific coast. New York and Los Angeles.
What just these two cities have contributed to music over the last 100 years is immense. Sometimes even getting 'in rivalry' with each other.
Yet, as I was saying, America is big.
And in between, it's not just all prairies, mountains, or deserts.
There's also a third city that, coincidentally, faces (again) a body of water, though insignificant compared to the other two.
Chicago.
Muddy Waters and Chess, Blues Brothers, Benny Goodman, Smashing Pumpkins, Wilco, Cap 'n Jazz, Kanye West. Just some of the first names that come to mind regarding this city.

But why all this musical-geographical chatter?

For nothing.
Just to say that lately, some of the bands that intrigue me the most are often from Chicago.
One of them is Whitney.
I'll say it upfront, a band that certainly doesn't stand out after the names mentioned above.
Last year they released an album called Forever Turned Around. And it's not bad at all.
It's a record very much a child of the '70s. But with sprinkles of country, a falsetto that pairs well with Bon Iver, and a warm and enveloping horn section that feels like the first sweater after summer.
10 tracks for about half an hour of music. Short songs without choruses repeated until death. They say what they have to say and then move on to the next track. Like music should do.
Honest and sensitive music, enjoyable yet accessible. Where everything is balanced with the right dynamics.

A record I hope will bring a ray of sunshine to your stereo.
Metaphorically speaking. Of course. Because I've already had enough sun today.