William Elliott Whitmore

Official website: http://www.williamelliottwhitmore.com/

Facebook:

Video for “Field Song” :

Samantha Crain

Official website: http://www.samanthacrain.com/

Facebook:

“Although Whitmore is a talented banjoist, his voice is very much the

focus. Weary and full of crags (from a lifetime of smoking, maybe, or

hollering at hardcore shows), it’s impressively wide and strong,

imbuing his compositions with a kind of welcome toughness. Folk music

has a reputation for limpness, but Whitmore’s vocals are energizing–

they give these tracks backbone. And while a few pieces are undeniable

standouts (“Everything Gets Gone”, “Let’s Do Something Impossible”),

Field Songs really plays best as a single document: a soundtrack to a

day in the field, a day anyone stuck behind a keyboard has probably

yearned for once or twice.”- Pitchfork

“The eight songs on the album “Field Songs” transcend era and genre,

and, despite their topicality, they even transcend contemporary

politics—but that’s not to say they don’t speak to them. Whitmore can

be an outspoken guy. His last album (and first for the esteemed ANTI-

label, which also released Field Songs) began with an indignant

commentary on George Bush (opening line: “It’s a goddamn shame what’s

going on”). Field Songs has no references to modern life, really;

these are literally songs about working in the fields, about hard

labor and simple pleasures and the unvarnished truth about dying.”-

The Hurst Review