In this edition of In Sight Out, a series of podcasts from Pitchfork that explore new perspectives on arts and culture, music writer Leor Galil speaks with Whitney.

After Chicago glam-rock outfit Smith Westerns broke up at the end of 2014, guitarist Max Kakacek and drummer Julien Ehrlich broke off to experiment with a different musical approach. They synthesized sweet Chicago soul melodies, plaintive country songwriting, and gentle ’70s folk: Ehrlich took on lead vocals behind the kit, and his comforting falsetto coo solidified the sound they began to make under the name Whitney. Their 2016 debut, Light Upon the Lake, made them indie-rock darlings, and catapulted them to unassuming stars in their hometown.


Before Whitney performed at the 2019 Pitchfork Music Festival, Kakacek and Ehrlich sat down with Leor Galil at the Chicago Athletic Association to talk about their band’s history and their forthcoming second album, Forever Turned Around.