Whitney

Alternately brushed with electronics or informed by folk- and country-rock, the warm, mellow indie pop/rock of Whitney is built around the core songwriting duo of Julien Ehrlich and Max Kakacek, both formerly of Smith Westerns. Led by Ehrlich's soft falsetto, the group's pastoral debut album, 2016's Light Upon the Lake, landed on several Billboard side charts, including rock, alternative, and vinyl. Their third long-player, 2020's Candid, concentrated on covers spanning John Denver, SWV, and Damien Jurado, and the group refashioned their sound with washes of electronics and beats inspired by J Dilla for 2022's SPARK. Three years later, the heartbreak-informed Small Talk marked a triumphant return to gold-hued soft rock.