Press

now she’s back, with this new EP that struts its stuff straight from the opening bars of the title track. The new collaboration here with veteran producer Hayward Williams takes Mann’s singer-songwriter style to a new place, revealing greater depth and soul, which in turn exposes a distinct difference in the poetry which now connects with a sense of wisdom, the sort that is hard-earned and well-learned.

So whether it’s the sass of the title track that hints at Margo Price, or the sagacious narrative of What About Heartbreak, a piano-led number propelled forward by a heavy backbeat from the percussion and a vocal delivery that just shouts attitude, this EP has it all. The beautiful Nothing but Time slows the pace while still managing to deliver enough bite, with a narrative that avoids over-sweetening the taste, before some Tom Waits-esque percussion opens the reflective Above the Flood, which excels with a subtle arrangement that reveals more with each listen. The EP closes with the infectious Different Kind Of Easy, which amply displays all the newfound confidence in Mann’s performance and craft.

With the release of Electric Heart, Mann has made a triumphant return to the music scene, and Nashville better be aware, for this time round she’s not going to be politely knocking on the door; she’s gonna kick that damn thing down. Needless to say, this EP comes highly recommended.

If you attended a live performance in Madison sometime between 2008 and 2017, you probably got to know Mann’s melodies, a combination of country grit and folky singer/songwriter assuredness that roped you in from the moment they wafted across the bar and into your ears.

Whitney Mann isn't done with music. More likely than not, she never will be.

"Some people journal. I've always been a songwriter," said Mann, who has been a fixture of the Madison music scene for more than 10 years. "It's just part of who I am."

If a conversation with Whitney Mann starts with who she has opened for, the Madison singer-songwriter is fine with that.

Besides, given that she's opened for Loretta Lynn and Willie Nelson, it's bound to be an interesting conversation.

"It's not a weird thing because I feel like it's a good talking point," Mann said. "I don't want it to be all that I'm known for, but if I can get that conversation started and talk about my music and what I'm doing, it's a benefit."

Mann released her second album, The Western Sky. One of its most irresistible tracks is called "Home." It begins with a warm, energetic fiddle and a country beat. It peaks with the chorus and its sweet harmonies.

The lyrics speak to Mann's idea of an idyllic place. "At night 'round the table we will sit," she sings. "And on ice tea we'll sip, as we talk about our days."

Camden and the music of Whitney Mann are about finding a place to belong, even if that place is only in your mind. "Oh, it will be all right," sings Mann in the chorus of "Home." "Oh, it will be just fine. Nothing feels as right as home."

—She wrote all the tunes on her seven-song outing titled The Western Sky and sings them in an appealing, down-home drawl. The backing is a jaunty, O Brother, string band that sounds as comfy as a living-room couch. Rootsy and charming.

"The sparse production and unremitting melancholy may mark Mann as an alt-country chanteuse, but her interweaving of soft melodic lines reveals influences like Bonnie Raitt and Neil Diamond. The real thrill of this six-song debut, however, is Mann's emotionally rich soprano sounding so doggone sweet amid all the sadness and resignation of which she sings."

"The Way Back Home shines with soul and sass, reminiscent of Jenny Lewis and Kasey Chambers. Mann drapes her bittersweet lyrics with sticky tenderness and wails like a woman scorned but proud. Her singing is wonderfully expressive, sometimes smoky and sometimes high-strung and bent with bluesy insistence." -

“Madison alt-country songstress Whitney Mann has established herself as a smart songwriter with a crystalline voice on 2009's splendid The Way Back Home EP” -

"a gorgeous country vocal and strong melodies with a healthy dose of pedal steel to complete the package...Whitney is firmly in the "one to watch" category" #5 on the Best of 2010 EPs -

"her biggest asset, her voice, which has echoes of Dolly Parton and Kasey Chambers and even occasionally the cracked regret of Tim Hardin, is utterly convincing... her melodies are to die for and she looks set to be one of the major names on the Americana scene."