This new release from White Hills is available on a limited edition 12 inch run of 1000 copies and coincides with an extensive touring schedule that sees them take in dates with The Flaming Lips, Mudhoney and the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in New York. As a result it’s difficult to know whether to judge this as a proper full scale release or a merely as a curious souvenir to take home from one of their shows.
Opener Drift Away starts off promisingly enough with some reserved but atmospheric Joy Division style drumming, slowly building with layers of subtle kraut-driven guitar feedback. 3 minutes and 50 seconds later we’re still listening to the same thing. At close to the 5 minute mark a piercing guitar becomes apparent amongst the sludge. You could say it plays a riff but that would imply that it was interesting. It then launches into a solo with complete disregard for any musical notions such as melodic phrasing or harmonic progression, it’s the kind of guitar based histrionics that Guns ‘n’ Roses finish every single song of a live set with. This continues until we are 10 minutes and 10 seconds into the song when it ends without any real conclusion. The feedback gradually dies away and the song finishes 15 minutes after it started. The two other songs on offer do exactly the same thing but thankfully without such a lengthy solo.
When done properly immersing yourself in walls of guitar noise is one of the most magnificent and exhilarating headphone experiences available. The loaded buzz-saw textures My Bloody Valentine perfected offer a complete world to get lost in. Similarly the swirling pyrotechnics of The Twilight Sad are so full of primal rage they can drain you of all the breath in your body. This release from White Hills just feels infuriating light weight.
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The abandonment of thoughts towards careful structure, harmonic movement or any true forward momentum means that, although short snippets are undeniably impressive in terms of tone and scale, when viewed as a whole the songs become unremarkable. The fact that all the recordings showcased here were taped live with no overdubs implies there may have been a care-free throwaway approach to the creation of the EP. While this fact is certainly extraordinary given the expertly creating sounds on offer here, it does nothing to enhance the listening experience. The most astonishing thing about it is that it means some people have actually listened to this all the way through.
Maybe I am trying to read too much into this. This may in fact be a great memento to explore the more extreme moments of White Hills live set kept intentionally separate from the rest of their recorded output; maybe it’s not meant to be taken too seriously. However viewed on its own and out of context it doesn’t really achieve anything.
White Hills on Myspace
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