With a title like ‘Small Talk’, you’d expect Whitney’s fourth LP to take place amid the mundane parts of life, but this album shows the Chicago-formed duo in a different light as they lay love and loss on the table. The results are wonderful. This isn’t meaningless chatter and preamble — it’s two artists opening up every ounce of their thoughts for the world to see.
Drummer-vocalist Julien Ehrlich and multi-instrumentalist Max Kakacek have played around with genres in the past, with folk, indie-rock, country and soul informing their sound at different points, but ‘Small Talk’ opens up another avenue, with soft-rock its dominant mode.
The record kicks off with the sweet Silent Exchange, a song that feels like drifting through clouds. Its piano notes are beautiful, seamlessly transporting you into Whitney’s headspace.
Lyrically, it’s a song of a few words, but its longing and desperation are right there: “I call your phone, thinking maybe I’ll find / The old machine that you left behind / Life caves in in a silent exchange / But I’m going to try my best to survive in this place.”
The standout here is the delightful Dandelions. Carrying a heavy ‘70s singer-songwriter vibe, it revolves around piercing heartbreak and pain, with the gnawing need to do anything to mask it: “Might take a beer to numb the pain / We took a risk, but you passed the blame.” Next to the angelic …Islands (Really Something) and the joyful In the Saddle, it’s emblematic of Whitney setting a new benchmark.
Whitney Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Sat February 21 2026 - DUBLIN Academy
Sun February 22 2026 - MANCHESTER Band on the Wall
Tue February 24 2026 - GLASGOW Art School
Thu February 26 2026 - BRISTOL Electric Bristol
Fri February 27 2026 - LONDON Hackney Church
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