Whitney, an indie septet from Chicago are playing the Majestic this friday. What started as a project to help them get through the nasty polar vortex of 2014, Max Kakacek and Julien Ehrlich's indie rock band has catapulted onto the music scene with a heady blend of rock, soul, and country with lush arrangements of horns and piano that all lead to one of the most fun records of 2016, Light Upon The Lake. Ehrlich's falsetto voice combined with the pop arrangements of the rest of the band and Kakacek's light and fun guitar riffs lead the listener to think this is a light and breezy record, but listening deeper to the lyrics gives you the full picture. Songs like “Golden Days,” written after both Max and Julien were broken up with, depict the idea that now might not be the best of times, “I get knocked down like I never knew,” but you have to keep hope, “I'm searching for those golden days.” After they wrote that song, both Max and Julien sent the song to their exes and after hearing it they called them crying. There are also fun, lightweight songs like “No Matter Where We Go,” inspired in part by Celine Dion.
In September, Whitney came to play at WSUM's Snake on the Lake, and they put on an incredible show. Witty banter, new arrangements, and a kiss between bandmates led to a great feeling of intimacy between the band and the audience, almost like they made eye contact with every member of the crowd. Whitney also brought up someone to play the shaker, a fun treat for the show. My personal favorite part of the show was before, “Someday” by The Strokes came on the speaker and Ehrlich began playing the drums along as well as Kakacek on the guitar, and the whole crowd started dancing along. It was just a genuine human moment that reminds you that although Whitney are on their way to indie super-stardom, they're still regular music loving, goofy guys.
