Lance Whalen, shot October 2004 in Lexington, with my 10D and the 50mm f1.4, 1/20th at f/2 and ISO 200. 24" print.
Lance Whalen's third album, Civil Twilight is now available, for purchase at CDBaby.com or for listening at www.LanceWhalen.com. Notably, Lance is offering a couple of free downloads from the album, including the stunningly haunting title track, so check it out and see if it suits you! (You can also view the vimeo of a Synapse Trap collaborative version of the album's most rousing number, "Breathe Easy." It's pretty cool, though lacking the muscular bass of the album version.)
I've been meaning to do a new Lance print (my third) for quite some time (my second was featured on the back of his second CD, Ever Since Forever After), but wasn't too happy with a brief shoot we did last summer. So went digging into my archives and found this treasure. Took one look and thought, Aha!, I can really go to town with all the potential negative space of that woodwork. Had been wanting to do a really brightly toned image for a while, and thus this is only my second ever true black and white. (Trust me, I tried putting a little color in it, but there was none that could possibly improve it!)
Have been listening to the new album for a couple of months now. (Got a free preview for helping order the selection.) Didn't quite sit well with me at first, because I'm a rocker and I love it when Lance rocks. Whereas the first album is half rocking (check out "While I'm Away" on his mySpace page), and the second 19-track record splits into even thirds (of up-, down-, and mid-tempo - look up the nail-biting "For Your Love" in that mySpace list), this new one only kicks in for "Breathe Easy" near the end. The most rocking thing he's done lately ("What the Hell Was I Thinking," again at mySpace) was determined not to belong in this new set.
But once I quit expecting the album I wanted, and listened to the album it is, I became deeply impressed with it. Lance is fundamentally a touchy-feely songwriter within an effectively gruff exterior and a bit of smartass to rile you when your attention slips. This new album is definitely a rainy day record (with some appropriately light-hearted moments). But just as his second album had delivered us through the night of epic grief, Civil Twilight brings us to a wisdom and catharsis where we all sometimes need to a leg up to get. The closing/title track has been haunting me for days at a time as I myself have lately been trying to bury some personal demons - there's something about the desperate hope of it that stirs deeply, in a place where I've otherwise felt alone.
The real genius of the album, though, is in its reckless disregard for genre. Recorded in Nashville and rife with steel guitar, Civil Twilight manages to sound not at all like a country record, neither like modern commercial country or even "country'n'western" style. Whereas Frank Black's Fast Man Raider Man sounded quite clever and good, it also sounded as if Black had put on a costume. By contrast, Lance here simply sounds like himself, being himself, in a new town with new musicians who just happen to play different instruments. (Notably, the variety of female vocalists who've helped define Lance's style in the past aren't to be found here, and though I've loved their parts on the prior records, I'm quite surprised how little I'm miss them now.) So basically, if you are fond of steel guitar but (like me) despise most modern country music, you'll be really pleased with this gestalt that Lance has pulled together.
So check out some of the material online and see if you like it too. Lately, I've had to force myself to listen to anything else.
"Meanwhile," remember that the new slideshows in my gallery section are full-screen, and check out this print as big as you're able. I think it'll be one of my finest ever. (And no, I don't say that about every print, just about every sixth or eighth, haha.)
Listened to some of his music while looking at this photo... the photo is perfect for him.
Posted by: JNgaio | 20 January 2010 at 06:07 AM