Americana classics sung like new

Kilonova was released on Bloodshot Records on September 7th. It marks the seventh album of William Elliott Whitmore’s career but stands alone in its distinction as a collection of 10 cover songs that have influenced Whitmore throughout his career.

While harnessing an obvious folksy sound, Whitmore has pointed out over the years that his influences range across genres like country, blues and even punk. You hear this variety throughout Kilonova between traditional covers from the likes of Johnny Cash and Bill Withers, to more interesting takes on punk and noise-rock fare from Bad Religion and Captain Beefheart.

“Fear of Trains” begins the album with a pleasant acoustic guitar melody that kind of resembles “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas. Whitmore has a ruggedly strong baritone voice you can’t help but respect after his first breath. He takes the indie rock song from the Magnetic Fields and makes it sound like a deeply personal tune that’s an instant favorite on the release.

On “Busted,” the listener now gets some drums and low-note guitars in something of a swaying waltz that was originally written by Harlan Howard and famously covered by Johnny Cash in Folsom Prison. “Don’t Pray on Me” prominently features a banjo that serves as the bedrock of the melody. It’s a fun, folksy and laid-back take on a Bad Religion rip-roarer that nearly flies off the record player. “Hot Blue and Righteous” has lots of reverb guitars with some ghostly harmonies that make this a bit of a haunting listen that sounds very close to the original written by ZZ Top and crooned by Billy Gibbons. “Five Feet High and Rising,” on the other hand, is a very folksy tale based around the rising of a farmland flood, a tale as Americana as it is biblical from the mind of the “Man in Black.”

“Ain’t No Sunshine” has been covered thousands of times by artists across the musical spectrum. While this version from the Iowa-based one-man-band doesn’t particularly stand out as an end-all, be-all rendition, it’s still a very well-done cover that would definitely make Withers proud if he heard it. “One Glass at a Time” is another folksy and country sounding track, and sounds as if it could be from the Cash catalog as it sounds very similar to “Busted” and “Five Feet High and Rising.” “Run Johnny Run” is yet another folksy track with some skipping banjo notes and a noticeably jumpier beat compared to other tracks on Kilonova. “Country Blues” stands out in being very minimalist with just Whitmore singing in a particular melody for a good chunk of the song.

“Bat Chain Puller” caps off the album with a Captain Beefheart song. True to form, it features many varying melodies on-going at the same time. While it sounds like lyrics, melodies and tones smashed together into a ball of sound, Whitmore’s oak voice stands strong and unmoving throughout the cacophony as the star of the five-minute number.

For the music fans in the middle of a folk/Americana and punk/classic rock Venn diagram, Kilonova is worth checking out. Punk loyalists will more than likely get a kick out of an acoustic rendition of a Bad Religion or Magnetic Fields song the same as a country fan will enjoy hearing Whitmore’s barroom-baritone voice try out tracks from the Cash catalog. “Fear of Trains” may have to get the honors for the best track on the album, followed by “Five Feet High and Rising” and “Ain’t No Sunshine.” A solid project worth undertaking and listening to.