William Elliott Whitmore is the classic old soul—he's a 41-year-old in modern America who sounds more like he's 60 and caught in the Dust Bowl. There aren't many others that pull it off with the sincerity of Whitmore, who spins yarns with the aid of only his banjo and the vocal rasp of a lifelong smoker. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that he was reared in the hardcore scene of Lee County, Iowa—Whitmore's songs have the punch of an early-'80s punk band, and far more raw power. by Mark Lore