Animals in the Dark

The songs on this Anti debut sound cultivated from the fertile, treacherous Mississippi mud that surrounds him. Whitmore's ability to balance contrasts - suffering and humor, truth and fancy, the literary and the earthy - places him in a tradition that has drawn young dissidents to folk music since before Dylan's time. With two albums behind him featuring his stunning voice - a powerful instrument that can recall Leadbelly and Otis Redding within the same song - and traditional banjo and guitar, Whitmore has made a name for himself in both the punk and roots communities. RIYL: Bon Iver, Band Of Horses, Fleet Foxes, Bob Dylan, Drive By Truckers, Lucinda Williams, Billy Bragg.