Whispers (Passenger album)

Whispers is the fifth studio album from British singer-songwriter Passenger. It was released between 6 and 10 June 2014 in different countries, through Black Crow Records and Nettwerk. The album includes the singles "Scare Away the Dark" and "Heart's on Fire".

Whispers
Studio album by Passenger
Released	6 June 2014
Recorded	2013–14
Genre	Indie pop Indie folk
Length	41:58 (standard edition) 68:42 (deluxe edition)
Label	Nettwerk Black Crow
Producer	Chris Vallejo Mike Rosenberg
Passenger chronology
All the Little Lights (2012) Whispers (2014) Whispers II (2015)
Singles from Whispers
"Scare Away the Dark" Released: 28 March 2014[1] "Heart's on Fire" Released: 14 April 2014

Background

On 26 March 2014 Passenger announced details of his fifth studio album, confirming the UK release date as 9 June 2014. When speaking to Digital Spy about the album he said, "This is easily the most 'up' album I've ever made, it's quite cinematic. There are lots of big stories and big ideas. There are also some sombre moments about loneliness and death but hey, it wouldn't be a Passenger album without those." He released "Heart's on Fire" as the lead single from the album on 14 April 2014.[2]

Singles

"Heart's on Fire" was released as the lead single from the album on 14 April 2014. Talking to Digital Spy about the song he said, "Heart's on Fire' is a nostalgic song. It's about when the timing with someone isn't right, even though the person might be. And although you're not with that person at the time, there may be a moment in the future where the relationship makes more sense."[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	63/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Blurt	[6]
The Guardian	[7]
The New York Times	(mixed)[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]

Whispers was met with a moderately positive reception from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 63, based on 7 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews.[4]

Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian gave praise to Rosenberg's "snaggle-toothed rasp" delivery throughout the record and the storytelling elements that invoke "characterful observations ("Bullets")" and "striking vignettes ("Riding to New York")".[7] AllMusic editor Matt Collar gave the "Album Pick" title to the album, praising the instrumentals and lyrics concluding with, "Ultimately, with Whispers, Rosenberg has crafted an album of sweet, hummable anthems for tender-hearted troubadours everywhere."[5] The New York Times music critic Jon Caramanica gave a mixed review of the album, saying that his voice "can be striking, even if its arsenal is limited," but found most of his lyrics were like a "teenager’s scribbled poems."[8]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at No. 12 on Billboard 200,[10] No. 5 on Top Rock Albums,[11] selling 18,000 copies in the first week. The album has sold 71,000 copies in the United States as of August 2016.[12]

Album cover

"Whispers" received a 2015 Grammy nomination [13] for Best Recording Package. The art director,[14] Sarah Larnach, was also the artist and designer on the album and credits Mike Rosenberg with creating the concept. "Whispers" is the third Passenger album cover created by Sarah Larnach.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mike Rosenberg.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Coins in a Fountain"	3:04
2.	"27"	3:20
3.	"Heart's on Fire"	4:13
4.	"Bullets"	3:24
5.	"Golden Leaves"	4:07
6.	"Thunder"	2:25
7.	"Rolling Stone"	3:22
8.	"Start a Fire"	4:21
9.	"Whispers"	4:02
10.	"Riding to New York"	5:02
11.	"Scare Away the Dark"	4:38

Deluxe edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Heart's on Fire" (Acoustic)	3:56
13.	"Coins in a Fountain" (Acoustic)	2:49
14.	"Riding to New York" (Acoustic)	4:49
15.	"Start a Fire" (Acoustic)	3:56
16.	"Golden Leaves" (Acoustic)	4:03
17.	"Rolling Stone" (Acoustic)	3:27
18.	"Whispers" (Acoustic)	3:44

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2014) Peak position scope="row" Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 2 scope="row" Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16] 12 scope="row" Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 8 scope="row" Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18] 26 scope="row" Canadian Albums (Billboard)[19] 2 scope="row" Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[20] 13 scope="row" Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 3 scope="row" Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[22] 15 scope="row" French Albums (SNEP)[23] 106 scope="row" German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] 6 scope="row" Irish Albums (IRMA)[25] 6 Italian Albums (FIMI)[26] 39 scope="row" New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[27] 3 scope="row" Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[28] 14 scope="row" Scottish Albums (OCC)[29] 6 scope="row" Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[30] 23 scope="row" Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 5 scope="row" UK Albums (OCC)[32] 5 scope="row" US Billboard 200[33] 12 scope="row" US Folk Albums (Billboard)[34] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2014) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[35] 71 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[36] 108 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[37] 61 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[38] 59 UK Albums (OCC)[39] 95 US Folk Albums (Billboard)[40] 21

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Russia (NFPF)[41]	Platinum	20,000^*
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Label
United Kingdom	9 June 2014	Black Crow

References

1. "Scare Away The Dark by Passenger". 7digital (US). Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
2. Corner, Lewis (26 March 2014). "Passenger announces new album Whispers - Music News". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
3. Eames, Tom (14 April 2014). "Passenger unveils video for 'Heart's on Fire'". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
4. "Reviews for Whispers by Passenger". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
5. Collar, Matt. "Whispers - Passenger". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
6. Zimmerman, Lee. "PASSENGER – Whispers". Blurt. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
7. Sullivan, Caroline (5 June 2014). "Passenger: Whispers review – sparse, folk-pop storytelling". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
8. Caramanica, Jon (10 June 2014). "Jack White's 'Lazaretto,' About Controlling and Letting Go". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
9. Dolan, Jon (10 June 2014). "Passenger: Whispers (Nettwerk)". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
10. "Billboard 200". Billboard. June 28, 2014.
11. "Top Rock Albums". Billboard. June 28, 2014.
12. "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016.
13. "58th Annual GRAMMY Awards Winners & Nominees". The GRAMMYs.
14. ELESHA EDMONDS (9 December 2014). "Kiwi Sarah Larnach in with Grammy chance". Stuff.
15. "Australiancharts.com – Passenger – Whispers". Hung Medien.
16. "Austriancharts.at – Passenger – Whispers" (in German). Hung Medien.
17. "Ultratop.be – Passenger – Whispers" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
18. "Ultratop.be – Passenger – Whispers" (in French). Hung Medien.
19. "Passenger Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
20. "Danishcharts.dk – Passenger – Whispers". Hung Medien.
21. "Dutchcharts.nl – Passenger – Whispers" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
22. "Passenger: Whispers" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
23. "Lescharts.com – Passenger – Whispers". Hung Medien.
24. "Offiziellecharts.de – Passenger – Whispers" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
25. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 24, 2014". Chart-Track. IRMA.
26. "Artisti - Classifica settimanale WK 24 (dal 09-06-2014 al 15-06-2014)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on 21 March 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
27. "Charts.nz – Passenger – Whispers". Hung Medien.
28. "Norwegiancharts.com – Passenger – Whispers". Hung Medien.
29. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
30. "Spanishcharts.com – Passenger – Whispers". Hung Medien.
31. "Swisscharts.com – Passenger – Whispers". Hung Medien.
32. "Passenger | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
33. "Passenger Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
34. "Passenger Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard.
35. "End of Year Charts – ARIA Top 100 Albums 2014". ARIA Charts. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
36. "Jaaroverzichten 2014". Ultratop. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
37. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2014". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
38. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2014". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
39. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2014". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
40. "2014 Year-End Charts - Billboard Folk Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
41. "Russian album certifications – Passenger – Whispers" (in Russian). National Federation of Phonogram Producers (NFPF). Missing or empty |url= (help)