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ESSENTIAL NEW MUSIC

Essential New Music: Whitney Rose’s “Heartbreaker Of The Year”

WhitneyRose

Whitney Rose’s voice sounds like it’s coming out of a time machine in RCA’s Studio B in Nashville, circa 1960. Her songwriting blends vintage R&B and retro country. With head Maverick Raul Malo producing, they achieve a timeless sound that crackles with energy and just enough studio polish to remind you that it’s 2015. “The Last Party” is a classic tale of heartbreak, and it sounds like Dolly Parton channeling Jim Reeves, with the pedal steel of Burke Carroll (Shania Twain) weeping in the background. Rose’s wrenching vocal on “Only Just A Dream” is a jaw-dropping blend of Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers. There’s a bit of grit on rocker “The Devil Borrowed My Boots Last Night,” with Maverick drummer Paul Deakin laying down a solid beat to support Rose’s purring vocal, while Malo duets with Rose on “Be My Baby,” reinventing the Ronettes hit as a smoky country shuffle.

—j. poet