The now seven-piece band from Chicago – headed up by Julien Ehrlich and Max Kakacek – released their second album in August last year with the continuation of those delicate horns and strings.
‘Forever Turned Around’ has achieved strong praise from across the globe, including a proclamation of the 30th August being coined as Whitney day from their hometown Mayor Lori Lightfoot. And for me, it flowed perfectly from their first album ‘Light Upon the Lake’ making an ever so smooth live performance.
The ensemble graced the stage of the old Wesleyan Chapel with their local pal Aldous RH. The young manc performed shoeless and kick started the crowd with his slow jam crooner anthems. He had the entirety of the hall singing along to his famed single ‘Sensuality’, a song that captures the essence of his warped 70s synth-soul sound.
Whitney then followed through and a member of the crowd yelled, “let’s do this!”. Their effortlessly cool aura had hit the room and the audience predictably swayed along to every lyric, piano lick, and rising horn. ‘Giving Up’ was notably a crowd pleaser, and Aldous RH came back on for ‘Rhodedendron’ with a solo guitar special.
The mood then turned down for ‘Forever Turned Around’ and ‘Used To Be Lonley’, with those sweet soothing vocals of Ehrlich’s that makes you joyously envious. From the amount of emotion in the room it is clear that Whitney and their fanbase are not going anywhere anytime soon.
