Whitbeck will make alt-rock fans’ day with their darkly powerful new album January 22 — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Let by award-winning guitarist, vocalist and producer Greg Whitbeck, the Vancouver band’s debut album delivers a dozen explosively dynamic, emotionally charged anthems anchored by dense guitars and smoky vocals, set against rousing arrangements and grounded by driving rhythms.
“January 22 is our first full-length album and also the third single and video from the record,” Whitbeck says. “The song itself is about the paradox of hope and renewal vs. defeat and resignation against a backdrop of the beautiful, shining port city of Vancouver. Mixed and produced later, it was written and recorded in the cabin of my 27’ Albin Vega sailboat I lived on at the time and all the vocal and guitar tracks are the originals from those Shelter Island Sessions.”
Meanwhile, lead single and album opener West Coast Love Song carries a profound meaning as it explores the tragedy of the Canadian residential school system, in which more than 150,000 children from hundreds of indigenous communities across Canada were forcibly taken from their parents by the government. The song is dedicated to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls of Canada.
“West Coast Love Song is one of the darkest songs I’ve ever written, and one thing I’ve written about plenty is the blackness,” Whitbeck explains. “It features the incredible Susana Williams’ vocals as well as her appearance in the video and an incredible cameo of her walking out of the ocean onto the beach outside her home of Sunshine Coast, Canada. Far from a love song, it has morphed from a lament of loss & sorrow in the deep green of west coast cedar shadows and Pacific waves gloaming to a sad, yet eerie and perhaps even violent yarn about a chilling demise.”
January 22 pays musical homage and takes influence from ’90s alternative and grunge, classic rock ’n’ roll and modern indie rock, realizing its own cohesive signature sound. Greg Whitbeck’s emotional vocals and down-to-Earth lyricism are backed by dynamic guitar arrangements and layered, memorable melodies. Although many of the songs explore dark territory, the underlying vibe is one or resilience and hope.
Greg Whitbeck is the former guitarist and songwriter of Morning Maker, Tourist and Shining Hour, and a two-time CFOX Seeds winner. Whitbeck also features mega-talents in guitarist Sean Dillon and the former Sick Logic rhythm section of Mario Loubert and Shiraz Mohammed.
Listen to January 22 below, watch the video for West Coast Love Song above, and find make Whitbeck’s day by heading to their website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
