William Elliott Whitmore, a farm boy who hails from Lee County, Iowa, is set to release his new record, Animals in the Dark, on the Anti- label on February 17. After a trio of acclaimed, intimate, spare, and highly personal albums on the Southern label, Whitmore gets more political on Animals in the Dark, and he also fleshes out his sound. What remains the same is his wizened, worn voice, which gives a startling authenticity to his straightforward, woodsy folk music.

Whitmore will be performing with The Donkeys, Pictures of Then, and Meth & Goats at RIBCO on Saturday, January 17, in a show presented by Daytrotter.com. The show starts at 9 p.m., and admission is $8.

In this interview with the River Cities' Reader, Whitmore talks about why he began looking outward, the challenges of writing political songs, and why he decided to collaborate more on this album.

To download “Old Devils” from his upcoming album, click here. To listen to his Daytrotter.com session, click here.

For a Reader interview with Whitmore from summer 2007, click here. For a 2006 Reader review of Song of the Blackbird, click here.

Whitmore’s Web site can be found here.

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Great artist
written by Justin Holstein, February 21, 2009

Going to the show in Iowa city tonight. It was nice to hear a full explanation of the new album as a pre-cursor. Thanks Jeff.

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