About

After a seven-year wait, The Whispering Tree returns with Bones of Better Days—an album that explores identity and the myths we tell ourselves about the past. Following the success of Invisible Forces (which debuted at #1 on the Folk DJ charts), the duo toured extensively across the U.S. and Europe—until the world came to a halt. In the quiet that followed, they began piecing together a collection of songs that reflect on memory, loss, and reinvention. The result is their most sonically rich and lyrically fearless album yet.

From the biting satire of “Bleeding Out in Hollywood” to the stark, cinematic longing of “Atlantic City,” Bones of Better Days blends folk, country, and Americana with unexpected flourishes, like the Eastern European-inspired waltz of “Nesting Doll.”

The title track dismantles the longing for an imagined golden age, exposing how clinging to the past can blind us to the needs of the present. In an era of MAGA slogans and reactionary politics, it critiques nostalgia as a political weapon. With a wink and a nod—and a touch of country and blues swagger—”Born Again” and “Find a Man” challenge religious and social hierarchies, urging listeners to embrace the present by rejecting salvation narratives and questioning outdated gender roles.

Rooted in El Kleiner’s evocative lyricism and stunning voice, alongside Brangbour’s intricate arrangements, Bones of Better Days is both intimate and expansive—a dynamic collection of songs that resonate deeply in today’s uncertain world and reaffirm their place as one of the most compelling duos in contemporary folk music.

Press

“Bones of Better Days is an album of rare intimacy...It’s an album to sit with, to return to, and to let work its quiet magic – and maybe discover some light."

- Americana UK

"Excellent. Simply excellent."

- Americana Highways

"A beautiful take on Americana... crafted with acumen and great class."

- Roots Highway

"Great, great voices, wonderful arrangements...a beautifully produced album."

- Frank Hennessy, BBC Celtic Heartbeat

"Invisible Forces is a musically diverse take on classic Midwest Americana sung with the soul of the gospel"

- Americana UK

"In the field of excellence, without flights of fancy, without special effects, aiming with measure and taste directly at the fulcrum."

- Roots Highway

"Hauntingly Beautiful"

- Northern Sky Magazine

"A socially potent commentary of humankind's modern times"

- The Big Takeover Magazine

"The Whispering Tree live is an intimate slice of warm folk roots"

- Chronogram

"The Whispering Tree tastily combine wistful folk, mellow rock and pinches of gypsy jazz and bluegrass into a compelling compilation of tightly written tunes"

- Keyboard Magazine

"One of the most talented duos to take stage in NYC."

- Deli Magazine

"Spacious, sweeping, snow peak-scaling folk rock."

- The Big Takeover

"The Whispering Tree manage to be extremely accessible without compromising the intelligence of their music. To say that Kleiner sounds like an edgier version of Tift Merritt, or Shelby Lynne in a pensive, cosmopolitan moment, doesn't do justice to the originality of her songwriting or her unaffected, disarmingly direct vocals. The band were amazing."

- Lucid Culture