Spark (Whitney album)
| Spark | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 26, 2022 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Length | 38:18 | |||
| Label | Secretly Canadian | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Whitney chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Spark | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 64/100[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [3] |
| Clash | 7/10[4] |
| Exclaim! | 7/10[5] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 7/10[6] |
| Pitchfork | 5.8/10[7] |
| Under the Radar | 7.5/10[8] |
Spark is the third studio album by American rock duo Whitney. It was released on September 16, 2022, on Secretly Canadian.[9]
Background
In the fall of 2019, band members Julian Ehrlich and Max Kakacek left Chicago for Portland, Oregon, after they both had recently gone through breakups. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they stayed in a rented house in Portland longer than expected, where they began working on what would become Spark.[9][10] They wrote the album in Portland over the course of 14 months.[11] It was recorded at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas.[8]
The album is noted for its classic pop sound, rather than the duo's previous folk-soul sound.[10][12] Kakacek described it as "trying to make music that sounds like the early 2000s," with influences including Usher, Ne-Yo, and Gwen Stefani.[9] The album was produced by Brad Cook and John Congleton.[9]
The album was announced on June 16, 2022, along with the release of the single "Real Love".[12] On September 29, 2022, the band began a North American and European tour in support of the album.[12]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Max Kakacek and Julien Ehrlich; "Real Love" written with Ziyad Asrar; "Memory" and "Terminal" written with Will Miller.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Nothing Remains" | 3:00 |
| 2. | "Back Then" | 2:29 |
| 3. | "Blue" | 3:05 |
| 4. | "Twirl" | 4:32 |
| 5. | "Real Love" | 2:56 |
| 6. | "Memory" | 3:53 |
| 7. | "Self" | 2:40 |
| 8. | "Never Crossed My Mind" | 3:25 |
| 9. | "Terminal" | 3:11 |
| 10. | "Heart Will Beat" | 2:51 |
| 11. | "Lost Control" | 2:48 |
| 12. | "County Lines" | 3:22 |
| Total length: | 38:18 | |
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[1]
Whitney
- Max Kakacek – guitar, keyboards (all tracks); bass (tracks 1–3, 5–11), synthesizer (1, 4, 6–11), drum programming (2, 5, 8, 9), sample programming (2)
- Julien Ehrlich – vocals, keyboards (all tracks); guitar (1, 2, 4, 6–8, 10, 11), drums (1, 3, 6, 11), percussion (2, 3, 5, 10, 11), vibraphone (8), synthesizer (9)
Additional musicians
- Will Miller – keyboards (1, 3, 6, 9), horns (3, 4, 7, 9, 11), synthesizer programming (4, 6, 9), EWI (4, 7, 9, 11), synthesizer (5, 11), trumpet (11)
- Lia Kohl – cello (1, 3, 4, 9)
- Whitney Johnson – viola, violin (1, 4, 9)
- Brad Cook – bass (4, 6), synthesizer (4, 7), drum programming (7)
- Trey Pollard – string arrangement, conductor (6)
- Ellen Riccio – violin (6)
- Adrian Pintea – violin (6)
- Stacy Matthews – violin (6)
- Jeannette Jang – violin (6)
- Treesa Gold – violin (6)
- Anna Bishop – violin (6)
- Molly Sharp – viola (6)
- Hyoojoo Uh – viola (6)
- Fitz Gary – viola (6)
- Jason McComb – cello (6)
- Nate Mercereau – additional guitar arrangement (8), additional synthesizer arrangement (9)
- Nick Hakim – keyboards (8)
- Malcolm Brown – additional bass arrangement (8)
- Wills McKenna – flute (9, 10)
- Rob Moose – string arrangement (12)
- Sam Gendel – saxophone (12)
Technical and visuals
- John Congleton – production (all tracks), mixing (12)
- Jacob Portrait – additional production (2), mixing (1–3, 5–11)
- Ziyad Asrar – mixing (4), additional engineering (all tracks)
- Gerardo Ordoñez – engineering
- Heba Kadry – mastering
- Michelle Alvarez – additional engineering
- Curtis Fye – additional engineering
- Driely Carter – art direction, packaging
- Victor Clemente – art direction, packaging
- Christoph Gromer – art direction, packaging
Charts
| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Current Album Sales (Billboard)[13] | 91 |
References
- ^ a b c Spark (Media notes). Whitney. Secretly Canadian. September 16, 2022.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Critic Reviews for Spark by Whitney". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Donelson, Marcy. "Spark Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ "Whitney - SPARK". Clash. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Sylvester, Daniel (14 September 2022). "Whitney Find Their 'SPARK' in Slick Studio Experimentation". Exclaim!. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Kuscher, Oliver (16 September 2022). "Whitney reignite their Spark". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Howe, Brian (19 September 2022). "Whitney: SPARK". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ a b Moody, Mark (14 September 2022). "Whitney: SPARK". Under the Radar. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d Cohen, Jonathan (12 September 2022). "Whitney's 2000s-Era Pop Inspirations Hit Just Right On Spark". Spin. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ a b Covington, Abigail (16 September 2022). "The Beautiful Bromance That Is Whitney". Esquire. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Xie, Teresa (16 September 2022). "The Story Behind Every Song On Whitney's New Album SPARK". Stereogum. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ a b c Corcoran, Nina (16 June 2022). "Whitney Announce New Album Spark and Tour, Share New Song". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ "Whitney Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved June 16, 2023.