Album Review: Whitley - Even The Stars Are A Mess

In 2010 Whitley broke hearts and disappeared into an indefinite hiatus. Now, after a three-year spin around the globe, he returns with Even The Stars Are A Mess, and although it holds onto the classic, acoustic Whitley-sound, it's his most stripped back album yet.

Lawrence 'Whitley' Greenwood continues to successfully capture a romanticism in his music between the simple and stunning use of harmonies and fluttering guitar sequences. He has strayed away from the bombastic folktronica of his second record, Go Forth, Find Mammoth, and has instead taken a minimalist approach. Each track on Even The Stars… would not feel out of place on his debut, The Submarine, as they feature only a handful of instruments and basic structures – it's simple, highly evocative and still as emotionally possessive as his past work. The running guitar in lead single My Heart Is Not A Machine reacquaints you with the singer/songwriter's skilful creations, as well as his human lyrics.

Here, Whitley has whipped up a manifesto tailored around human and life experiences On opener, The Balance Of Terrence McKenna, he sings “It's not a mean world/It's beautiful, I've seen it” while referencing a well known psychonaut in the song title, making you unsure whether he's talking about our communal world or his own journey into the subconscious. The sinister tone embedded in TV, meanwhile, presents itself as a critique on artificial human connection brought on by mass media. Sharing his positive and negative views on the human experience, the title Even The Stars Are A Mess concludes his message: that even the worst experiences are beautiful in their own unique way.