At this point, the fact someone made a pandemic album is hardly a surprise. Typically it’s been a collection of favorite covers, or a project filled with random songs that made the cut after months of alone time. Canadian duo Whitehorse turned that on its ear with their new record, I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying. The pair had already decided to do an EP of classic 70’s country songs. When lockdown hit, with time on their hands and a theme already set, they let the style drive their writing and ended up with a dozen originals perfect to be the vehicle for a drive deep into the heart of country music.
The Road exemplifies that with a number about the road coming to an end with the pandemic, and the female half of the duo, Melissa McClelland, leads ala Loretta with Conway, or Dolly with Porter. Sanity, TN, is 60’s classic Nashville, pre-strings. It’s a mental exercise about when things start to get crazy, that drive back to sanity needs to have an anchor in reality. Manitoba Bound is all-in honky-tonk and features the other half of the pair, Luke Doucet on vocals and a sweet-and-salty twangy guitar. Bet the Farm channels the 9-to-5 soundtrack with a good disco thump to go with the country pop. I Might Get Over This (but I Won’t Stop Loving You) gets a Byrds, or Burritos, California country coating.
McClelland and Doucet kept a wry sense of humor throughout, and it breaks the surface in a few places. Division 5 is about a sad sack so lost without his girlfriend he goes to the Mounties to file a missing person report. Leave Me As You Found Me puts the campsite rule of dating to a gentle country waltz. Scared of Each Other observes how personal interactions have changed, from talking to the mailman to watching a pick-up scene. It goes the furthest afield musically, with a jam band fluidity that has you just waiting for an 8-minute Trey Anastasio guitar solo.
Whitehorse has been nominated for Juno Awards in multiple categories with a rich back catalog dating over a decade, from blues to rock to folk. So I guess it’s not surprising they decided to explore the classic country music vein. What is more unexpected is the richness of the vein they struck. Due to be released in a few days, I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying is out a little late for many of the best-of polls this year. If you want a contemporary take on old-school country music, though, you won’t find anything much better than this on those lists.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.