Whitney has announced their upcoming album, Small Talk, set to be released on November 7th via AWAL. Described as the Chicago duo’s most affecting and best work to date, the album’s reveal is accompanied by the new single “Dandelions.” This mid-summer track features Julien Ehrlich’s signature falsetto, complemented by horns, sweeping strings, and Max Kakacek’s plaintive slide guitar, following their previously released album track “Darling.”
On ‘Dandelions,’ Ehrlich states,
“A couple years ago Max and I were both on the brink of moving across the country to be closer to the people we were dating at the time. Over the span of a few months both relationships somewhat abruptly crumbled, leaving us with equal parts confusion and sadness, mourning the futures that would have accompanied those relationships as well as the relationships themselves. Inspired by those events (and on a whim of Midwestern pride) we wound up spinning the story of ‘Dandelions’ into one of a big city hopeful who gets chewed up and spit back out into the heartland.”
After a decade of collaboration as both roommates and bandmates (from Smith Westerns to Whitney), Ehrlich and Kakacek recorded Small Talk in the Summer of 2024 without a producer, inviting various musicians to contribute. The result is a collection of 11 incandescent songs that balance their classic heartfelt melodies with noticeable artistic evolution.
In support of the new album, Whitney will embark on a North American headlining tour beginning this Sunday, July 20th, in Lake Tahoe, CA. The tour will span across Canada and the East Coast before concluding in the Midwest, with support from Folk Bitch Trio. The duo has spent the early summer opening for Caamp at amphitheatres across the U.S., including upcoming shows at The Greek in Los Angeles tonight and The Greek in Berkeley this Saturday, July 19th.
