William Elliott Whitmore - Animals In The Dark

TRACKLISTING: 1 Mutiny, 2 Who Stole The Soul, 3 Johnny Law, 4 Old Devils, 5 Hell Or High Water, 6 There's Hope For You, 7 Hard Times, 8 Lifetime Underground, 9 Let The Rain Come In, 10 A Good Day To Die,

OVERVIEW: Born and raised and still residing on a farm in Lee County, Iowa, William Elliott Whitmore refers to himself as a "son of the soil" and the songs on his Anti debut 'Animals In The Dark' sound cultivated from the fertile, treacherous Mississippi mud that surrounds him. Whitmore's ability to balance contrasts - suffering and humour, truth and fancy, the literary and the earthy - places him in a tradition that has drawn young dissidents to folk music since before Dylan's time. With two albums behind him featuring his stunning voice - a powerful instrument that can recall Leadbelly and Otis Redding within the same song - and traditional banjo and guitar, Whitmore has made a name for himself both within the punk movement, where his populism and sincerity resonate with alienated urban kids, and the roots community, where writers like Andy Downing in the Chicago Tribune have placed him within the "new pastoralism" of Bon Iver and the Fleet Foxes. On 'Animals In The Dark', Whitmore adds elements such as strings, an organ and a pedal steel, putting his poetic songs into full arrangements and a band context for the first time. The results are a more expansive, cultivated sound, without losing any of the palpable soul that has garnered the 30 year old such critical acclaim. Whitmore honed his live skills playing with Against Me, Converge, Billy Bragg, his beloved Pogues and Lucero among others, developing the ability to quiet a rowdy crowd with just a voice and banjo. His last album "Song Of The Blackbird" earned Whitmore the revered Album Of The Week spot on Mojo Magazine.
For fans of Bon Iver, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, Bob Dylan, Drive By Truckers, Gaslight Anthem and Billy Bragg.

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