Iowa native William Elliott Whitmore is best known for his stark, rural folk albums, but on his latest LP, Radium Death, he swaps spare acoustic guitar/banjo picking for an electric guitar and a full band including driving drums, electric guitar, bass, and keyboards. Recorded over the course of two years with producer and longtime collaborator Luke Tweedy, Radium Death showcases a more varied collection of songs that range from rural folk to rock n’ roll and gospel to country, all set to Whitmore’s ragged vocals. A few notable tracks are: the fiery opener “Healing to Do”; the country waltz “Can’t Go Back”; the gospel tinged “Ain’t Gone Yet”; the twangy boogie “Don’t Strike Me Down”; and the folk rocker “A Thousand Deaths.” I like that Whitmore is mixing things up a bit and would like to see him continuing to change things on upcoming albums. If you like Sean Rowe, Lucero or Uncle Tupelo, then you will like the direction Whitmore is moving. – Written by JFelton
SIMILAR | Otis Gibbs, Murder By Death, Charlie Parr, The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Langhorne Slim