3.5/5 stars
William Elliott Whitmore lets out a ferocious roar on the opening track of his new album, Radium Death. The eighth record from the Iowa-based singer-songwriter is the first one that he has ‘gone electric’ on, bringing a new sense of energy and urgency into his country and blues sound.
The punk-influenced singer-songwriter is a road that is well travelled these days, but Whitmore pulls it off with a more blues-based influence than his counterparts. There are plenty of songs that have the melodies and gravitas of old traditionals, as well as songs that borrow as much from Bad Religion as they do Blind Willie McTell. This is all backed up by Whitmore’s powerful and commanding voice, with a whisky-and-cigarette-soaked texture that fits the songs to a tee.
Fans of older albums shouldn’t be too stressed, as there are plenty of songs on which Whitmore puts away his newly found electric guitar to bring out more acoustic sounds, as well as the banjo. Songs like ‘Have Mercy’ really soften things up, which makes the full band tracks like ‘Trouble In Your Heart’ hit just a little bit harder.
Radium Death removes a lot of the minimalism and simplicity of Whitmore’s previous albums, but in no way is it any less intimate or engaging.
