A DIY INDIEPOP VINYL & CASSETTE LABEL

Let's Whisper

Let's Whisper - The In-Between Times [12"]

Artist: Let’s Whisper
Title: The In-Between Times
Format: 12" album on black vinyl
Cat#: Fika092LP
Release date: 26th August 2022
Bandcamp

The name “Let’s Whisper” implies secrets—the sorts of things you’d tell friends in a night’s waning hours, as the sun is about to peek over the horizon. Colin Clary and Dana Kaplan have been friends and musical collaborators for years, and the openhearted, detail-rich indiepop they craft together reflects their rich creative relationship and trust in each other. On The In-Between Times, the second Let’s Whisper full-length—the band’s first release in eight years, and first as a five-piece—the Burlington-based band digs deeper into their day-to-day worlds while confronting their individual and collective futures.    

“This is a record about love and loss and change and possibilities,” Colin and Dana say about The In-Between Times, which comes out on Fika Recordings in August 2022. Indeed, the prevailing mood of this album is a sense of grounding, of not letting the big questions of life—“what gets you through the night?”, “will I see you around the town?”, “have you done the thing that defines you yet?”—completely obfuscate the minutiae that makes it beautiful.  

Musically and lyrically detailed, The In-Between Times is the work of a band that uses the catchy melodies and jangling guitars of indiepop to peel off into exciting, and at times unexpected, musical and lyrical directions. “The Thing That Defines You” is crisp and questioning, with squiggles of guitar at its melody’s fringes implying the strands of identity that a friend is trying to see in order to get a full, unencumbered-by-narrative picture of someone they love. “Sing!” swells from a gentle jangle into a triumphant trans anthem that charmingly flips the bird to societal norms. “40 Ways To Love You” pairs its pointillistic detailing of a loved one’s best qualities with a weepy guitar countermelody that makes the romance all the more poignant.        

Let’s Whisper started as a home-recording project between Colin and Dana, also in the beloved “open-hearted indiepop revolutionaries” The Smittens, in the mid-2000s. Writing and recording music at home resulted in more tightly knit songwriting process, which the pair referred to as “Whispering.” After releasing a pair of EPs, 2008’s Make Me Smile and 2010’s Keep a Secret, Let’s Whisper brought on drummer Brad Searles (Eef, The Also-Rans), expanding and adding a fulcrum to their sound. Since Brad joined, Let’s Whisper has released one album, 2011’s The Shortest Days, and a 10-inch, 2014’s As Close As We Are. The latter was called “short and sweet, by turns deadpan in its delivery and sentimental in its subject matter” by the Vermont weekly Seven Days, and it was Let’s Whisper’s last release until now.

But Let’s Whisper has kept creatively busy in those ensuing years. In addition to the three members pursuing their own projects individually and together, Let’s Whisper toured the US and the UK, rounding out its lineup with bassist-guitarist Jeff Baron (Essex Green, Ladybug Transistor) in the States and bassist-vocalist Emma Kupa (Standard Fare, Mammoth Penguins) in Great Britain. For the recording of The In-Between Times, both Jeff and Emma joined Colin, Dana, and Brad during sessions at Marlborough Farms in Brooklyn—although they did so a year apart, with Emma recording her parts (including banjo on the chiming “Simple Times” and vocals and banjo on the plainspoken “Long Run”) with the core three in 2017 and Jeff adding guitar and keyboards in 2018, when the finishing touches were put on the album by studio owner and engineer Gary Olson.  

With The In-Between Times, Let’s Whisper have created an album that, even in its more pensive and mournful moments, celebrates the array of what life has to offer—the elation of watching hot-air balloons lift off at sunset, the triumph that comes with living honestly, the joy that comes when an open heart is mirrored by a friend, or a fan, or a loved one. Lean in and listen closely. 

Let’s Whisper are
Colin Clary - guitar, vocals
Dana Kaplan - guitar, vocals
Brad Searles - drums
Emma Kupa - bass, vocals,
Jeff Baron - guitar, keys

LET’S WHISPER started as a home-recording project between the Burlington, Vermont-based duo of Colin Clary and Dana Kaplan (The Smittens) in the mid-2000s. Their home-recording process, which they refer to as “Whispering,” conjures up intimate, heartfelt songs that build off the framework of tweepop and incorporate bits of psychedelia and Americana while staying openhearted and questioning. On their first release in eight years, The In-Between Times, Let’s Whisper—now a five-piece rounded out by drummer Brad Searles, bassist-vocalist Emma Kupa, and guitarist-keyboardist Jeff Baron—expand their sound while detailing the realities of their world in pointillistic lyrics. 

The In-Between Times offers the type of sentimental, nostalgic music that would be at home in a quirky, early aughts rom-com soundtrack with bands like the Magnetic Fields, the Microphones, Seabear and the WeakerthansSeven Days

every bit as good as it should be with such a line up and drifts through an eclectic mix of twee / jangly indie-pop… consumamate cool of Scottish indie-pop acts such as the BMX Bandits, U.S. Highball and Bubblegum LemonadeJanglepop

“Disarming and comforting” Sydsvenskan [4/5]

The songs of "The In-Between Times" are truly timeless” (album of the week) Music Won’t Save You [in Italian]

Just Another Pop Song [Italian]

Let's Whisper - Long Run [Digital]

Artist: Let’s Whisper
Title: Long Run
Format: Digital single
Cat#: Fika092SG3
Release date: 4th August 2022
Bandcamp | Spotify

Let’s Whisper return with their first new music since 2014, having grown from a three piece to enlist the talents of The Essex Green’s Jeff Baron and Mammoth Penguins’ Emma Kupa, today previewing another track from their forthcoming album.

Following on from recent singles The Thing That Defines You and The Year Of Getting High (the first new music from Let’s Whisper since 2014), Long Run showcases another angle to Let’s Whisper’s evolution.

Written by Emma Kupa, Long Run is the first Let’s Whisper track not penned by the founding duo of Colin Clary and Dana Kaplan, and leads us through her tender reflections on relationship regrets - a thread familiar to those who fell in love with her critically acclaimed solo album of 2020.

This song is about finding peace and closure and seeing a more positive side to a situation that for a long time may have only seemed negative.”

Let’s Whisper started in the early 2000s in Burlington, Vermont, as a home recording project for Dana Kaplan and Colin Clary, both of The Smittens, for their softer, more intimate compositions. Brad Searles joined soon after on drums, as the sounded evolved from acoustic duets to embrace a wider dynamic. They released a pair of EPs and two full length record on the much missed London based microlabel WeePOP! from 2008 to 2014.

Since then, Let’s Whisper started playing more shows, in the US enlisting Jeff Baron (The Essex Green, Ladybug Transistor) on guitar or bass, and in the UK bringing in Emma Kupa (Mammoth Penguins, Standard Fare) on bass.

On the forthcoming record The In-Between Times, their first for Fika Recordings, they recorded with Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor) in Brooklyn, NY. It’s the first Let’s Whisper record with Dana Kaplan post-testosterone, and sees Emma Kupa fill in on the high harmonies vacated by Dana’s new vocal range. The addition of Jeff Baron and Emma Kupa has brought flourishes of both The Essex Green’s textural complexity and Standard Fare’s polyphony arrangements to the Let’s Whisper catalogue.

LET’S WHISPER started as a home-recording project between the Burlington, Vermont-based duo of Colin Clary and Dana Kaplan (The Smittens) in the mid-2000s. Their home-recording process, which they refer to as “Whispering,” conjures up intimate, heartfelt songs that build off the framework of tweepop and incorporate bits of psychedelia and Americana while staying openhearted and questioning. On their first release in eight years, The In-Between Times, Let’s Whisper—now a five-piece rounded out by drummer Brad Searles, bassist-vocalist Emma Kupa, and guitarist-keyboardist Jeff Baron—expand their sound while detailing the realities of their world in pointillistic lyrics. 

Let’s Whisper live:
15 Sep: O Brien’s, Boston MA - with Quivers and Yours Are The Only Ears

“It’s a mellow ballad, but this time Emma seems to be finding solace in letting things go, allowing yourself to find some closure. The instrumentation is really special, from little horn accents to an understated banjo working beneath Emma’s voice” Austin Town Hall

Let's Whisper - The Year Of Getting High [Digital]

Artist: Let’s Whisper
Title: The Year Of Getting High
Format: Digital single
Cat#: Fika092SG2
Release date: 12th July 2022
Bandcamp | Spotify

The name “Let’s Whisper” implies secrets—the sorts of things you’d tell friends in a night’s waning hours, as the sun is about to peek over the horizon. Colin Clary and Dana Kaplan have been friends and musical collaborators for years, and the openhearted, detail-rich indiepop they craft together reflects their rich creative relationship and trust in each other. On The In-Between Times, the second Let’s Whisper full-length—the band’s first release in eight years, and first as a five-piece—the Burlington-based band digs deeper into their day-to-day worlds while confronting their individual and collective futures.  

Following on from recent single The Thing That Defines You (the first new music from Let’s Whisper since 2014), The Year Of Getting High is the second track taken from the forthcoming album The In-Between Times (out August 2022), this time showcasing the songwriting nous of Dana Kaplan:

“As a kid (and actually into my early adult years) I was always really only able to cry when I was by myself, my head in my pillow, shielded from the world. How and with whom and where do we show our true selves? This one is about the safety measures and defense mechanisms we use to guard ourselves against being with ourselves and our truths.”

Let’s Whisper are:
Colin Clary - guitar, vocals
Dana Kaplan - guitar, vocals
Brad Searles - drums
Emma Kupa - bass, vocals
Jeff Baron - guitar, keys

LET’S WHISPER started as a home-recording project between the Burlington, Vermont-based duo of Colin Clary and Dana Kaplan (The Smittens) in the mid-2000s. Their home-recording process, which they refer to as “Whispering,” conjures up intimate, heartfelt songs that build off the framework of tweepop and incorporate bits of psychedelia and Americana while staying openhearted and questioning. On their first release in eight years, The In-Between Times, Let’s Whisper—now a five-piece rounded out by drummer Brad Searles, bassist-vocalist Emma Kupa, and guitarist-keyboardist Jeff Baron—expand their sound while detailing the realities of their world in pointillistic lyrics. 

Let’s Whisper live:
15 Sep: O Brien’s, Boston MA - with Quivers and Yours Are The Only Ears

“On their latest single, the band churn out something that equally as grand, though its blossoming in a completely different fashion, more organic in a sense. The percussion works as the song’s backbone, with guitar lines bending about, stretching themselves out on the lawn and soaking up the little arrangement details that offer a sunny disposition to the listener” Austin Town Hall

Let's Whisper - The Thing That Defines You [Digital]

Artist: Let’s Whisper
Title: The Thing That Defines You
Format: Digital single
Cat#: Fika092SG1
Release date: 14th June 2022
Bandcamp | Spotify

The name “Let’s Whisper” implies secrets—the sorts of things you’d tell friends in a night’s waning hours, as the sun is about to peek over the horizon. Colin Clary and Dana Kaplan have been friends and musical collaborators for years, and the openhearted, detail-rich indiepop they craft together reflects their rich creative relationship and trust in each other. On The In-Between Times, the second Let’s Whisper full-length—the band’s first release in eight years, and first as a five-piece—the Burlington-based band digs deeper into their day-to-day worlds while confronting their individual and collective futures.  

On the first single, The Thing That Defines You, Let’s Whisper say: “We were thinking about the ways in which people get defined, and we were curious about the ways we don’t always get to control our own narrative. Someone can become defined by one thing they did—positive or negative—but how does that get set? How do you imagine you are seen by others? How do you see yourself? What will your obituary say?

Let’s Whisper are:
Colin Clary - guitar, vocals
Dana Kaplan - guitar, vocals
Brad Searles - drums
Emma Kupa - bass, vocals
Jeff Baron - guitar, keys

LET’S WHISPER started as a home-recording project between the Burlington, Vermont-based duo of Colin Clary and Dana Kaplan (The Smittens) in the mid-2000s. Their home-recording process, which they refer to as “Whispering,” conjures up intimate, heartfelt songs that build off the framework of tweepop and incorporate bits of psychedelia and Americana while staying openhearted and questioning. On their first release in eight years, The In-Between Times, Let’s Whisper—now a five-piece rounded out by drummer Brad Searles, bassist-vocalist Emma Kupa, and guitarist-keyboardist Jeff Baron—expand their sound while detailing the realities of their world in pointillistic lyrics. 

“Let's Whisper make sweet, twee indiepop of the jangliest variety. Check out winsome earworm "The Thing That Defines You.” Brooklyn Vegan

“The group’s first single from The In-Between Times churns and jangles, like a song that dips its toes in the pools of paisley vibes while pressing play on the warmth of classic pop records from Athens. It’s a short gallop with huge backing harmonies that are the best things you can offer your ears this week.” Austin Town Hall

“With the precious, Scottish indie-pop laconic of the U.S. Highball sound, juxtaposed against the sort of chiming, folk-laden jangle that is currently embraced by the likes of The Telephone Numbers and The Umbrellas, this single is one of the best of the year so far.” Janglepop