(2007)
White Hills – “Glitter Glamour Atrocity”
(2007)
From Aural Innovations #36 (May 2007)
I’d not heard NY space rockers White Hills prior to this, but according to their promo materials, they’ve released a number of CD-R’s that have been compared favorably to Hawkwind, Spacemen 3 and Krautrock sounds. Indeed, I hear all of these elements blended nicely into Glitter Glamour Atrocity, their debut CD.
The band gets things going in a rather spacey manner with Airwaves, a dark, atmospheric instrumental with low-key guitars, menacing drums and swirling electronic sounds. Very nice! Under Skin or By Name is a charged up rocker with a classic Spacemen 3 kind of sound to it, punctuated with some freaky electronics and rippling, psychedelic guitar. Spirit of Exile delves a bit more into Krautrock territory with its motorik beats, droning guitars and spaced out electronic rumblings. Distance is the perfect title for the next track, with its hazy, shimmering dream-like vibe. Somewhere Along the Way is an ominous acoustic piece with nice interstellar atmospherics floating around in the background. It eventually dissolves into a wash of sound effects that make for a freaky lead-in to the album’s next rocker, Love Serve Remember. With its march-like rhythm, murky guitars and call and response like chants, it remains in brooding darkness till a fiery explosion of sizzling guitar graces its finale. We get a moment to breathe then with Passage, a brief interlude of deep space drones, before the closing title track. Glitter Glamour Atrocity, is a nearly 14-minute long epic that has the manic, pummelling energy of something Comets on Fire might have done in their earlier days, but with extra spaciness thrown in thanks to all the gurgling electronics that swoop and whoosh throughout the heaviness. It finishes off the album in spectacular form.
If you like your space rock dark and edgy, this is the album for you.
For more info, visit: http://www.whitehillsmusic.com
Or e-mail to: White Hills
Also check out the band’s myspace page at: http://www.myspace.com/whitehills
Reviewed by Jeff Fitzgerald