Whitney share new single ‘For a While’
Chicago indie rockers Whitney have already had a pretty solid promotional run for their latest LP, SPARK. We’ve heard plenty of great songs, been given some insight into their working process, and those lucky enough were able to see the band live got a quality performance. Now should probably be the time to relax and gear up for whatever comes next, right?
Instead, the duo are looking to the past with a newly re-recorded version of the song ‘For a While’. Originally written around the time of the band’s 2016 debut, Light Upon the Lake, ‘For a While’ was a live staple during the band’s earliest gigs and has been sprinkled into some of the group’s more recent shows.
But if you looked up ‘For a While’ on the band’s collection of setlists, you wouldn’t find it anywhere. That’s because, all the way up to their most recent shows, the song had been known as ‘Rolling Blackout’. According to setlist.com, the song has been played 49 times as ‘Rolling Blackout’, but if it gets played now, it should be under its newly updated name.
“The lyrics of ‘For a While’ were inspired by a time Max and I drove past a burning car on the side of the highway in Northern Illinois,” Julien Ehrlich shares about the old/new song. “From what we could see, everyone made it out safely, but in that moment, we were both struck by the ubiquity of anonymous tragedy.”
“Over the course of writing ‘For a While’, that experience evolved into a feeling of gratitude and love for all the people who aren’t able to be with us today. We’ve been working on this song for a few years and a few different phases of our lives. It’s seen some people come and go. We love you all.”
Whether it’s a new version of an old song or a reworked track that deserves to be known as a new song in its own right, all you need to know is that ‘For a While’ is a good song. Similar to new songs like ‘Memory’ and ‘County Lines’, ‘For a While’ was a good song as ‘Rolling Blackout’, and now it’s good as ‘For a While’. If you’re confused, just ignore the titles and listen to the music. Everything will be alright in the end. Just sit back and let the music take you to a lighter and calmer place.
Check out the video for ‘For a While’, featuring footage from Whitney on their latest tour, down below.
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