Whitney Release Covers Album ‘Candid’

Following their acclaimed sophomore album ​Forever Turned Around​, Whitney have decided to return with a loving tribute to songs that have been formative and lasting to the entire band. ​Candid​, is a 10-song collection boasting covers of artists like Kelela, David Byrne, John Denver, SWV, and more which is out now on Secretly Canadian. 

Recorded in January and February of 2020 over multiple sessions at Treehouse Studios in Chicago and ​Flora Recording and Playback in Portland​, ​Candid f​inally sees the full touring band in a recording studio together. “​This is the first time we really saw what the live iteration of Whitney sounds like in a studio. It was a really celebratory vibe and everyone in the room fed off each other’s energy,” says guitarist Max Kakacek. It’s the band’s best reflection so far of their triumphant live show as most of these renditions were recorded live. Featuring keyboardist Malcolm Brown, bassist Josiah Marshall, trumpeter Will Miller, as well as guitarists Print Chouteau and Ziyad Asrar, the entire live unit is firing at all cylinders thanks to its tight-knit and road-tested relationship.

Listen to Candid

“We love these songs and all have an emotional connection to each one, but we really wanted to see if we could take the skeleton of each track and approach it in a way that felt new. We didn’t want to recreate what any of these artists already did,” says Kakacek. This is most evident on ​Candid ​opener “Bank Head,” which tackles the sparse and hypnotic electronic single by Kelela. ​Ehrlich adds, “​It’s something we’ve never done before and probably a direction that we want to explore in our future albums” he continues, “​We knew we couldn’t beat these songwriters at their own game. Instead, we wanted to find songs that were great at their core and could be reimagined.”