Under the Adeline Hotel moniker, Dan Knishkowy has crafted several albums that all land gently somewhere between indie rock, folk, and other genres that are too exotic to pin down with simple labels. The graceful Solid Love (2020) sounds like a collection of Jeff Tweedy’s prettiest unreleased compositions. Good Timing (2021) is an instrumental collection of mesmerizing acoustic guitar tracks. The Cherries Are Speaking (2021) recalls the jazzy, semi-orchestral feel of Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks. That’s just scratching the surface. As both a solo artist and supporting player, Knishkowy is constantly exploring. With Whodunnit, he’s not only crafted a profoundly personal record but has also done so without sacrificing an ounce of his dedication to musical craftsmanship.
Adeline Hotel’s Whodunnit has been described as a “breakup album”, following in the footsteps of Blood on the Tracks, Here, My Dear, and Rumours. But what sets this one apart is that it seems devoid of bitterness or blame. Instead, Knishkowy is in a reflective mood throughout, pontificating on the nature of relationships with a deep sense of curiosity and avoiding specifics while choosing generalities that are relatable to everyone.
The open tuning of the exquisite title track (also the album’s first single) works nicely alongside the fragile vocals, which are typically poetic and elegant: “Slip into the leather of my skin / And cauterize in wonder / I predict the best in everything / I guess that only applies in summer.” Later, the song will conclude with Knishkowy in a deeply inquisitive mood: “In another phase, another life / Only then I start to wonder / If it’s strange to need somebody.”
While Knishkowy’s acoustic guitar is a central musical focus on Whodunnit, he’s ably backed by a familiar and highly sympathetic cast of characters in the studio – Winston Cook-Wilson on keyboards, Sean Mullins on drums, Carmen Quill on upright bass and Jackie West and Katie Von Schleicher on vocals (the latter engineering and mixing the album). Cook-Wilson’s piano is an essential ingredient alongside the emotional heft of the vocals on “Grief”, as Knishkowy concentrates on acceptance: “Grief was coming, and I knew it,” he sings. “There’s only one way, and that’s through it.” Full-band performances are also deeply satisfying and seem to give Knishkowy the warmth he needs to carry on, particularly on the positive, affirming, self-explanatory “I Will Let Your Flowers Go”, as a jazzy waltz tempo brings to mind the thorny folk of Morrison’s Veedon Fleece.
One of Knishkowy’s many constant strengths, especially on Whodunnit, is his ability to craft eloquent and evocative lyrics that are also profoundly relatable. “I peeled the weight behind your words / And asked the waitress for a moment to think,” he sings in the intimate “Isn’t That Enough.” We’re a fly on the wall of this relationship, and the singing is so tender and emotive, the music so compelling that it almost feels like we’re spying.
Elsewhere, Knishkowy toys with bits of field recordings (the beautifully unmoored “How Did I Get So Lucky”), winsome folk that sounds like it was lifted from a lost Nick Drake album (“Preying On”), and an intoxicating mix of light drone with ethereal backing vocal accompaniment (“Joy”). On the record’s final track, “Possible Lives”, Knishkowy revels in a bit of the low-key alt-country that made Solid Love such a winning album, incorporating some subtle synth textures and singing of “spending all of my time picking possible lives out of a lineup”. Whodunnit is hopeful, searching for answers and meaning, as Dan Knishkowy puts it all on the table while Adeline Hotel soldier on beside him. Catharsis never sounded so beautiful.