What the Night Said is the debut album from Will Stratton

Will Stratton

-Early life:Will was born in northern California, but raised primarily in New Jersey. He began taking piano lessons at the age of 4. He spent one year at University of Puget Sound studying philosophy, before finishing college at Bennington College, where he switched his studies to music composition...

. It was recorded the summer after his senior year of high school in a small recording studio in Astoria, Queens

Astoria, Queens

Astoria is a neighborhood in the northwestern corner of the borough of Queens in New York City. Located in Community Board 1, Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Sunnyside , and Woodside...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, but not released until two years later.

Critical reception

The reception to the album was highly favorable. Allmusic has said that "Even though his songs seem to come from a nearly monkish vantage point of isolation, there is lifting beauty here, a need for connection, and breathtaking flights, swoops, and turns of melody." Evan Sawdey, for PopMatters

PopMatters

PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...

, opined that Stratton "ma[de] an album of songs that were custom-fitted for listening to at night," and that ultimately, "Stratton succeeds, and beautifully so."

Track listing

1. "Katydid" - 2:33
2. "So Ashamed" – 3:02
3. "Fireflies" – 2:48
4. "Night Will Come" – 3:45
5. "Lost the Fear" – 2:52
6. "I'd Hate to Leave You" – 2:58
7. "Sonnet" – 2:20
8. "Oh Quiet Night" – 2:19
9. "Sleepwalk" – 1:59
10. "Stay Awake" – 2:56
11. "Sunol" – 2:53
12. "I Don't Wanna Love" – 3:07

Personnel

• Will Stratton - vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, piano, harpsichord, Mellotron, synthesizer, bass guitar, hand claps
• Sufjan Stevens
  Sufjan Stevens
  Sufjan Stevens is an American singer-songwriter and musician born in Detroit, Michigan. Stevens first began releasing his music on Asthmatic Kitty, a label co-founded with his stepfather, beginning with the 1999 release, A Sun Came...
  
  - oboe
• Tony Rogers - violin, cello
• Sam Deutsch - violin
• Michael Trepagnier - hand claps
• Kieran Kelly - drums