SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: WHITEHORSE – I’M NOT CRYING, YOU’RE CRYING

Whitehorse
I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying
Six Shooter Records

OK, so with their latest album, I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying, Whitehorse, duo comprising Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet, dispel two debatable things. First, whether there is such a thing as Canadiana within the Americana genre, and the other is whether you need some exceptional musicianship to play country-tinged music, Canadian, American, or coming from any other corner of the world. What we get here is an unequivocal positive answer to both questions.

First of all, abandoning the original intention of recording ‘classic 70s’ country songs, Whitehorse ended up recording a set of originals that are actually infused with the spirit of the classics, showing that Canadiana certainly exists, unless of course, for example, those artists gathering around Nashville are familiar about life in Winnipeg, which the duo mentioned here.

Secondly, paying closer attention to the instrumental backing here, you can hear such intricate and complex musical details that some other musical genres either don’t require or are a bit hard to handle (for some artists at least).

Whitehorse actually have no problem not only with their instrumental skills, but handle the ‘classic’ country style songwriting as if they were born with it, and bring in vocals and lyrics to match. More power to the duo.

Artist Links