Echoes and dust

3 days!! 3 effin' days - that's all it took for this bunch of drug addled explorers of sound to come up with this album. 3 frickin' days!!!!

Here in the dark pit of despair that is the E&D catacombs, we're occasionally guilty of getting a little over exuberant when it comes to new albums. So just like a 14 year old's first sexual experience, we came too soon and put Sleepy Sun's 'Embrace' in our 'Albums of 2008' (the year prior to it's release) AND AGAIN in 2009. And so it is also with White Hills, which the observant one of the two of you may have noticed in our albums of 2009 despite it's release date of 1st Feb 2010. As soon as this motherfucker of an album fell down the long complicated pipes that lead to the 'Welcome' matt in our basement retreat, we couldn't help but tell the Earth (that's you two) how out of this world it is. And out of the world is not a inaccurate description.

Opener 'Dead' feels like floating in space for about 15 seconds before being thrown into turmoil - all jets have faltered and the craft is now being thrown headlong into a descent towards a fiery hostile planet 'the light that burns my eyes'. On the edge of oblivion, accepting the inevitable and the futility of battling against it, Dave W wails 'I'm cursed, I'm fried, I'm empty, inside'.

The same spatial despair is present in '3 Quarters' which smacks you in the face with it's grimy guitar and a bass so dirty not even the newest 'scientifically proven' Persil will get the stains out (and this tune results in a lot of stains where I'm concerned)!! Alright, the lyrics could do with a bit of tweaking - 'We don't care, she don't care, they don't care, no one cares.....on and on and on and on, overdrive expansion' - but I'm not here to appreciate Wordsworth, I'm here to flail my arms, shake my head and JAM MOTHERFUCKER, JAM!!! The riff is simple but an absolute killer that could challenge a great white in it's ferocity, but hold on, we still haven't got to the best bit!! It's about 5 minutes in when all the fun really starts. It's almost as if they've handcuffed Dave W's hands together for a month and then finally allowed him to let rip, evoking the spirit of Hendrix, Clapton (when he was good) and countless other intrepid explorers of the fret board. Awesome stuff, and after 8 minutes that seem like 3 you're salivating for more.

And more you get 'Glacial' is what I imagine the sound of an approaching whirlwind is like, followed by the sound of an elevator straight to hell - creepy stuff, and not to be listened to alone. 'Let The Right One In'
is a gorgeous ambient piece like Sleepy Sun if they'd done more drugs - A LOT more drugs. This is like floating in another world and invokes a sense of isolation but accompanied with a warmth that avoids alienation. It calls to mind a barren planet with no sign of life and could easily soundtrack last years amazing 'Moon'. Epic in length and scope the final third adds a vocal that resembles an occult chant, growing and growing until it gets as big as Giant Haystacks underwear, as does the panic and feeling of unease.

'Counting Sevens' is another counter to the hard rocking of 'Dead' and '3 Quarters' - leaving you eyes closed escaping into a smokey haze, whilst subtle squealing, phasered guitars work as a back drop to Kid Millions frenetic destruction of his drums and cymbals. Space rock is a term bandied around a lot but I can think of no better description for this track and album as a whole.

Not that its all 100% mind you 'We Will Rise' I could personally do without. Yeah, it may have spatial majesty and all that, but to me it just ends up sounding like a bunch of stoners messing around at the end of a spectacularly heavy smoking session. Of course, this could count as a thumbs up seal of approval for a lot of you!

What an album, what a way to start my year of reviewing music, and all done in 3 days. 3 bloody days I tells ya!! They're going to be over here in March with buddies (and also E&D faves) Pontiak. Miss them at your peril - they could come after you in their guitar shaped space craft, lasers not set to obliterate!!

Top Tracks: 'Dead', '3 Quarters'.

Released February 01 on Thrill Jockey