Despite having been recorded recently, Field Songs feels as familiar as cornbread. Not surprising, considering William Elliott Whitmore hails from an Iowa family farm near the muddy Mississippi. Although Whitmore cut a few albums before, he says that ANTI- Records “picked him out of the cornfield” when they offered him a three-record deal. On Field Songs, acoustic guitar or banjo accompanies soulful Southern crooning influenced by Louisiana blues. Every track has the warm feel of front-porch summers. Birds proclaim the daylight’s burning as Whitmore skillfully picks through his solo performance. Strong lungs belt out lyrics of farming, family, home, heartache, hard labor and loss, which flow into the ear like a breeze and settle in the gut. Field Songs finishes strong with a bass drum heartbeat and warmly amplified acoustic guitar as Whitmore hopefully admits the odds we all face, proclaiming, “If you reap what you sow, come harvest time we’ll see the proof.” Field Songs is the ripe fruit of Whitmore’s honest labor.
This article appears in August 2, 2011.