WHITEHORSE play the Dakota Tavern Tuesday (August 28) and Massey Hall Saturday (March 2). Rating: NNNN
Whitehorse, the duo project of married couple Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland, seemed like a sideline at first, but the collaboration has resulted in some of the best material of either artist’s career. Since they perform without a backing band, they use looping pedals and a variety of instruments to flesh out the songs in their live shows, and they’ve carried that minimalist experimental roots strategy over into their recorded work.
The Fate Of The World is their second album together, and you can tell they’ve been honing their approach. A little bit of the quirky lo-fi charm of their live show has been lost, but those textures are just window dressing for their obvious chemistry. Their voices blend in a way that makes you picture them constantly singing together at home while doing chores. Some moments sound like straight-up country, but it’s the unexpected left turns that make this project exciting, like when Jane shifts from a twangy Link Wray western feel to a slinky laid-back disco groove.
Top track: Devil’s Got A Gun
