It’s been quite a while since we’ve heard from Chicago indie rock act Whitney. Following the release of 2016’s Light Upon The Lake, they shared covers of tracks like “You’ve Got A Woman,” a 1975 track from the Dutch psych-pop band Lion, and Dolly Parton’s obscure “Gonna Hurry (As Slow As I Can).” The band’s trumpeter, Will Miller, recently debuted a jazz act titled Resavoir, which just announced their debut album, also titled Resavoir. And with the release of a new mostly instrumental track called “FTA” Monday, they teased a new album announcement for this week.

That announcement is here. Whitney’s new album Forever Turned Around is out at the end of August. “FTA” was billed out as a reworked version of the new LP’s final song, which turns out to be the title track; “FTA” = “Forever Turned Around.” But Whitney also told us on Monday that “FTA” was not the album’s proper lead single. We’re hearing that one today.

Fronted by vocalist and drummer Julien Ehrlich and guitarist Max Kakacek, “Giving Up” really hones in on some of those folkier vibes we heard on earlier tracks like “No Matter Where We Go.” It opens with acoustic twangs falling around the vocal melody like rain. A hint of melancholic strings in the chorus add a swing to the lighter and shaky percussion. The brightest part is the instrumental b-section, where swirling trumpets and electric guitar riffs cut in mid-conversation. 

Listen to “Giving Up” below.

TRACKLIST:

01 “Giving Up”
02 “Used To Be Lonely”
03 “Before I Know It”
04 “Song For Ty”
05 “Valleys (My Love)”
06 “Rhododendron”
07 “My Life Alone”
08 “Day & Night”
09 “Friend of Mine”
10 “Forever Turned Around”

Forever Turned Around is out 8/30 via Secretly Canadian. Pre-order it here.

CREDIT: Olivia Bee