William Elliott Whitmore Animals In The Dark

William Elliott Whitmore - "More Soulful than a Graveyard" (Daytrotter) - Set to Release Animals In The Dark February 17th, 2009

ANTI- Records Debut Marks a More Expansive Sound and Worldview for Iowa's Son of the Soil

Tour with Murder By Death Begins 10/23

From the first lines of "Mutiny," the opening track on William Elliott Whitmore's ANTI- Records debut Animals In The Dark, one can see that this is decidedly not simply a continuation of his Southern trilogy that spanned his last three releases. Rather than a reflection of life and loss and the world surrounding his Iowa horse farm on the banks of the Mississippi, "Mutiny" finds Whitmore's focus turned outward, to the state of the country and the missteps of the government. Conveyed with ire and humor, Whitmore sings over a martial beat:

Well it's a goddamn shame what's going down
How we got to this I do not know
There's a sick sick wind that is blowing ‘round
And the captain's got to go

Yet Animals In The Dark, is by no means a political record. It has more in common with the preacher blues of Reverend Gary Davis or the romantic populism of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska than it does a Billy Bragg record. What Animals In The Dark highlights is the maturation and growth of an exemplary artist. On the release, Whitmore showcases his classic songwriting and mastery of the acoustic guitar and banjo, but adds elements such as strings, an organ and a pedal steel, putting the 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.

William Elliott Whitmore naturally bridges the Americana music scene which embraces his sound and the Midwestern DIY rock movement which holds him as one of their own. Beginning on October 23rd, Whitmore sets out on tour with dark country rockers Murder By Death.

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