Light Upon the Lake

Light Upon the Lake is the debut studio album by American rock band Whitney, released on June 3, 2016 on Secretly Canadian.[1]

Light Upon the Lake
Studio album by
Whitney
ReleasedJune 3, 2016
Recorded2015
StudioJonathan Rado's house in Los Angeles
Genre
Length29:58
LabelSecretly Canadian
Producer
  • Whitney
  • Jonathan Rado
Whitney chronology
Light Upon the Lake
(2016)		 Forever Turned Around
(2019)
Singles from Light Upon the Lake
  1. "No Woman"
    Released: January 18, 2016
  2. "Golden Days"
    Released: March 23, 2016
  3. "No Matter Where We Go"
    Released: May 24, 2016

Background and recording

The album is Max Kakacek and Julien Ehrlich's first release since the breakup of their previous band, Smith Westerns, for which Kakacek was the guitarist and Ehrlich was the drummer. Ehrlich was also formerly the drummer of the band Unknown Mortal Orchestra.[2]

Light Upon the Lake was written during the winter in the band's hometown of Chicago, Illinois and was recorded in the San Fernando Valley in California with Foxygen member Jonathan Rado, who also produced the album along with the band. The band joined Rado at his home in Los Angeles and slept in tents in his backyard.[3]

Release

The album was preceded by the singles "No Woman," "Golden Days," and "No Matter Where We Go".[4][5][6] Each single was released alongside a music video.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.8/10[7]
Metacritic83/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Clash9/10[10]
Consequence of SoundB+[11]
DIY[12]
The Guardian[13]
The Irish Times[14]
NME4/5[15]
Pitchfork8.3/10[16]
Q[17]
Uncut8/10[18]

Light Upon the Lake received wide acclaim from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 83, based on 18 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[8]

Nikki Volpicelli of Paste praised the album, stating, "Sure, literally speaking all of the songs off of Light Upon the Lake conjure up failure to maintain a relationship with a loved one, but how can you relate a new band’s debut record—and one that’s so so fully realized to the point of even having a mission statement in the Whitney, as a man, as a writing prompt and concept—with a break up? If anything, it’s the start of something new."[19] Matthew Schnipper of Pitchfork gave the album a favorable review, stating, "Whitney might not reinvent anything, but they sound perfect right now, and it’s hard to argue with being in the right place at the right time."[16]

Michael Hann of The Guardian gave the album a favorable review, stating, "Those with a low tolerance for winsome male falsettos may wish to steer clear, but anyone who loves the strain of American pop that began when the Byrds started branching out in 1966 and 1967 should rush to hear this delightful confection."[13] Matt Wilkinson of NME praised the album, stating, "Bass, horns, strings, organ and choir provide the backbone, and when Whitney allow themselves to kick it up a gear and really let rip, as on ‘Golden Days’ (with its cathartic “Na na na” outro) or the George Harrison-meets-The Band magnificence of ‘Dave’s Song’, they’re untouchable."[15]

Accolades
Publication Accolade Year Rank Ref.
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 2016 2016
38
[20]
The Guardian The Best Albums of 2016 2016
33
[21]
NME NME's Albums of the Year 2016 2016
42
[22]
Paste The 50 Best Albums of 2016 2016
37
[23]
Pitchfork The 20 Best Rock Albums of 2016 2016 N/A
[24]
Rough Trade Albums of the Year 2016
58
[25]
The Skinny Top 50 Albums of 2016 2016
38
[26]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Julien Ehrlich and Max Kakacek.

No.TitleLength
1."No Woman"3:57
2."The Falls"2:20
3."Golden Days"4:02
4."Dave's Song"3:01
5."Light Upon the Lake"3:09
6."No Matter Where We Go"2:41
7."On My Own"2:14
8."Red Moon"1:42
9."Polly"3:26
10."Follow"3:26
Total length:29:58

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Light Upon the Lake.[27]

  • Julien Ehrlich – performer
  • Max Kakacek – performer
  • Charles Glanders – performer
  • Josiah Marshall – performer
  • Malcolm Brown – performer
  • Tracy Chouteau – performer
  • Will Miller – performer
  • Jonathan Rado – additional performer
  • Macie Stewart – additional performer
  • Myra Hinrichs – additional performer
  • Ziyad Asrar – additional performer

Production

  • Whitney – production, mixing (1)
  • Jonathan Rado – production
  • Daniel J. Goodwin – mixing (4, 6, 9)
  • Jacob Portrait – mixing (1-3, 5, 7, 8, 10)
  • Miles Johnson – art direction, design
  • Sandy Kim – photography
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References
  1. Minsker, Evan (2016-03-23). "Whitney (Ex-Smith Westerns) Announce Light Upon the Lake, Share "Golden Days" Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2016-07-03.
  2. Garaas, Leah (2016-01-18). "Upstream: Whitney make country feel fresh and cool". The Current. Retrieved 2016-07-03.
  3. "Whitney Announces Debut Album 'Light Upon the Lake'". Secretly Canadian. 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2016-07-03.
  4. Robinson, Collin (2016-01-18). "Whitney – "No Woman" Video". Stereogum. Retrieved 2016-07-03.
  5. Breihan, Tom (2016-03-23). "Whitney – "Golden Days" Video". Stereogum. Retrieved 2016-07-03.
  6. Helman, Peter (2016-05-24). "Whitney – "No Matter Where We Go" Video". Stereogum. Retrieved 2016-07-03.
  7. "Light Upon the Lake by Whitney reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  8. "Reviews for Light Upon the Lake by Whitney". Metacritic. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  9. Donelson, Marcy. "Light Upon the Lake – Whitney". AllMusic. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  10. Murray, Robin (June 6, 2016). "Whitney – Light Upon the Lake". Clash. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  11. Reiff, Corbin (June 3, 2016). "Whitney – Light Upon the Lake". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  12. Milton, Jamie (June 3, 2016). "Whitney – Light Upon the Lake". DIY. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  13. Hann, Michael (June 2, 2016). "Whitney: Light Upon the Lake review – gorgeous, russet-coloured Americana pop". The Guardian. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  14. Carroll, Jim (June 2, 2016). "Whitney: Light Upon the Lake album review". The Irish Times. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  15. Wilkinson, Matt (June 1, 2016). "Whitney – Light Upon the Lake". NME. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  16. Schnipper, Matthew (June 6, 2016). "Whitney: Light Upon the Lake". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  17. Oldham, James (2016). "Whitney: Light Upon the Lake". Q (30th anniversary special ed.) (361): 117.
  18. Richards, Sam (July 2016). "Whitney: Light Upon the Lake". Uncut (230): 82.
  19. Volpicelli, Nikki (June 3, 2016). "Whitney: Light Upon the Lake". Paste. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  20. "Top 50 Albums of 2016". Consequence of Sound. November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  21. "The Best Albums of 2016: 40-31". The Guardian. November 30, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  22. "NME's Albums of the Year 2016". NME. November 24, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  23. "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Paste. November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  24. "The 20 Best Rock Albums of 2016". Pitchfork. December 7, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  25. "Albums of the Year". Rough Trade. November 14, 2016. Archived from the original on November 16, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  26. "Top 50 Albums of 2016". The Skinny. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  27. Light Upon the Lake (LP liner notes). Whitney. Secretly Canadian. 2016. SC337.CS1 maint: others (link)
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