Normally, on a first release, artists are finding their footing and trying to figure out who they are creatively. Sometimes, though, there’s a special occasion when a first release is so self-assured and so specifically of that artist, that it seems like they’ve been making albums forever.
Frances Whitney’s debut EP Old Hobbies falls closer to the second option. Sure, Whitney, a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter in her 20s, still has room to grow, but it’s a really impressive start. Old Hobbies is the singer’s first EP, and highlights Whitney’s natural skill at storytelling about relationships, hurt feelings and growing up.
The sound on Old Hobbies is a blend of the ’70s folk that Whitney grew up listening to in San Francisco, as well as more modern influences, like Phoebe Bridgers. The EP kicks off with the track “Biggest Fan,” in which Whitney sings about the process of seeing someone you idolize become “just a man.” The raw and vulnerable track is accompanied by some of the most beautiful folk instrumentation I’ve heard in a while.
On “Easy Street,” one of the singles off of Old Hobbies Whitney crafts a story about an over-romanticized relationship in the breezy tune that serves as another highlight of the EP. On one of Whitney’s most recent single releases, “You Left Me for Jesus,” The song’s title gives a summarized version of the lyrics. Whitney sings “You can’t take me with you, you’ve found a new meaning, one day I’ll find forgiveness,” about two people breaking apart because one has embraced becoming a born-again Christian—a new hobby for one of the song’s subjects, in an album lamenting Whitney’s old “hobbies.”
Old Hobbies showcases that Whitney is gifted in her ability to produce evocative, emotional and vulnerable songwriting and storytelling, and Whitney has a real knack of creating the ideal delicate and beautiful music to go along with her well-crafted words. The EP showcases a true burgeoning talent for lyricism, and it will be exciting to see how that develops as Whitney’s career continues.
Whitney’s currently wrapping up some shows in the US, including a Nov. 21 gig at Chicago’s Sleeping Village, and will continue to play live in support of the EP throughout the rest of the year in San Francisco, Brooklyn and Toronto, and in 2025 in Los Angeles. See the full list of dates here.
Old Hobbies can be found on all streaming platforms.
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