William Elliot Whitmore- Animals in the Dark

Animals in the Dark is William Elliot Whitmore’s newest studio Album. Whitmore unleashes his soulful voice and simple banjo and guitar riffs to get his emotionally, and politically charged message across.
“Mutiny” opens up the album with drums only as an a cappella style song. Whitmore uses this opportunity to showcase his powerful voice. The snare drum keeps time, while he roars and is occasionally supported by background harmonies.
“Who Stole the Soul” is a mellow tune about a loss, and a rediscovery. Whitmore speaks of the loss of his “spark” earlier in the song, and goes on to find it in a progression from the morose to the heartfelt.
“Johnny Law” is a fast paced, old school country style song, with an old school country theme: protest of the police. With Lyrics like “Johnny Law, Johnny Law, he’s the littlest man I ever saw, with his badge and his gun he’ll just hassle everyone, he’ll getcha on the run Johnny Law” it’s not hard to see where Whitmore stands on the subject.
“Old Devils” is a song along the same lines as “Johnny Law” but this time taking aim at the Old Devils: “The Old Devils are at it again, when I say devils you know who I mean, these animals in the dark, malicious politicians with nefarious schemes, charlatans, and crooked cops.” The tempo of the song gradually speeds up, as the verses get more intense, the two perfectly compliment one another. Whitmore has a strong message that rang true in old country and folk- and carries on just as strong today.
“Hell or High Water” takes a break from the political message of the previous songs. It’s a beautiful, simple song about love for friends, with a perfect acoustic piece to accompany the lyrics that brings on waves of summers past type nostalgia.
“There’s Hope for You” is the first song on the album to add several instrumental dimensions into the mix. It starts off slow with acoustic guitar, adds some backing keyboards and drums which all evolve through the song into more prominent versions of themselves. The message of the song is quite powerful as well; it’s an inspiring encouragement to be your best and help others do the same, just the kind of thing we need in today’s world.
“Hard Times” changes everything up and adds electric guitar to the mix, but keeps all the simplicity of the former tracks. It a lyrical genealogy and a mantra of self worth all packed into one song. “Lifetime Underground” takes it to the folk on a serious note with the introduction of Whitmore on the banjo. In this track Whitmore has created a ballad out of a piece of his life story: where he has been, where is from, and the family and love he misses; major themes not to be left out of a great folk/country album.
“Let the Rain Come In” takes the folk instrumental from “Lifetime Underground” and speeds it up with a driving drumbeat; it even adds in a little country flavor with some slide guitar in the background. The lyrics to this song are a tribute to loving the simple parts of life: “Open up the door, and let the sound come in, I can hear the owls and the dogs begin, and they sing, and they shout, when the moon is out.”
“A Good Day to Die” strikes a more serious chord in the heart, and draws heavily on folk standards of the past with thanks to the lord and imagery of a beautiful country day- a good day to die. This song closes out the album in a very mellow way, and fits perfectly.