1. Sorest Of Eyes

William Elliott Whitmore William Elliott Whitmore - Radium Mirror2: William Elliott. William Elliott Whitmore. Porchlight - William Elliott Whitmore. William Elliott Whitmore Ashes To Dust Rapidshare Downloads Music. William Elliott Whitmore Ashes To Dust Rapidshare. Http: // Novak, Vitezslav.

William Elliott Whitmore's stunning debut album, Hymns for the Hopeless, a death-haunted collection of country-folk dirges sung in an ancient croak of a voice, begged the question, if an acceptance of death is both redemption and deliverance from a life of pain, struggle and regret, where to next? With Ashes to Dust, his second album, Whitmore makes it clear that the answer is simply more of the same. Like the first offering, this release practices a stern folk minimalism, with Whitmore's whiskey gargle of a voice delivering slow-burning gospel sermons to the sparse accompaniment of banjo or guitar, and when the occasional electric slide guitar enters, it seems to come from the next century, so insular is the tone here. This is country music that is still attached at the hip to gospel and the stern Baptist church hymns that are tailored to the three-note vocal range of the everyman, and Whitmore's astounding voice makes it all stick in the mind like a cautionary tale. But while most of Ashes to Dust could fit seamlessly alongside Hymns for the Hopeless, there are some subtle differences that make this album at least a partial step farther down the road to redemption.

Death is still the dominate force here, and it sits atop the sequence like a huge shadow in songs like 'The Day the End Finally Came,' 'Diggin' My Grave,' and 'The Buzzards Won't Cry,' but Whitmore has decided to embrace hope and love in the fiercely romantic 'When Push Comes to Shove,' the stunning train song 'Lift My Jug (Song for Hub Cale),' and the masterful portrait of his farmer father that closes the album, 'Porchlight.' These three songs in particular lift the album out of its harrowing fascination with death and allow some light in on the proceedings. Redemption, Whitmore appears to be saying, just might be attainable in the here and now after all. Ashes to Dust is another powerful album from one of the brightest talents on the Americana scene, one who understands that country isn't about how you wear your hat, it's about how you handle the inevitable. Steve Leggett.

With a voice that sounds like the reincarnation of an old gospel preacher from the 1920s and a fascination with sin, death, and redemption to match, William Elliott Whitmore is one of the most unique artists to emerge on the Americana scene in years. The son of a farmer, Whitmore was raised on a horse farm on the banks of the Mississippi River outside of Keokuk, Iowa. His songs have a stark universality that is sketched out with minimal instrumentation, usually just a banjo or guitar and a smattering of percussion. Whitmore is rumored to have gotten his start in the music business by working as a roadie for Iowa hardcore band Ten Grand, famous for their fast-and-furious 20-minute sets, and Whitmore frequently stepped in with his songs to fill out the time. His voice is the one Tom Waits has been after for years (imagine a cross between Captain Beefheart and Dock Boggs), and his folk- and blues-inflected songs feel like they've been left out in the rain for months, weathered and tightened to the snapping point. Whitmore released Hymns for the Hopeless on Southern in 2003, followed by Ashes to Dust, also on Southern, in 2005.

He appeared on the 2006 compilation CD/DVD entitled Let's Be Active, along with two other artists. In 2006 Whitmore released a third album on Southern, the characteristically stark (and critically acclaimed) Song of the Blackbird. Animals in the Dark followed in 2009. Whitmore toured extensively in late 2009 and for much of 2010 and saw his reputation as a songwriter increase, playing for ever larger audiences. He returned to recording in early 2011 with another stripped-down set, entitled Field Songs, which was released by Anti in July of that year. He undertook a tour with Low Anthem and James Vincent McMorrow before embarking on his own headlining tour, which took him everywhere from small clubs to folk festival stages. But Whitmore never gave up farming.

With a desire to change up his process, he began writing songs in 2013 and traveling two hours to work with producer Luke Tweedy in Iowa City over the next year and a half. The end result was Radium Death, an album that, while retaining Whitmore's hard folk roots, was fleshed out by full-on rock band arrangements. Anti released the set in March of 2015.

Sorest Of Eyes

William Elliott Whitmore (born May 11, 1978, Iowa, United States) is an American blues, country and folk singer and musician.