LP / CD / DL
Out Now
7.5 / 10
There’s always sense of anticipation on these pages at the news of
a new album from Dave W and Ego Sensation.
Their blend of Stooges, Alice Cooper and gritty psychedelia provides a
listenable balance between heavy and kraut rocks.
On Stop Mute Defeat, White Hills delve further into the dystopian
electronic sound with hints of Cabaret Voltaire circa Red Mecca amid sprawling soundscapes
of guitar and emphatic percussion sounds.
Dave W is as slurred as ever and his word execution is delightful. Album opener, Overlord is a slowburning
affair which spreads itself over seven minutes in a soundtrack type piece with
a horror movie feel, sirens and soundbytes encouraging us to “defy the law”. It’s a brave choice for an album start but
probably what you’d expect from the American duo.
It is on tracks like Importance 101 when White Hills truly shine. A creepy, scary track with an accompanying
video equally as churning. “Don’t rely
on counting sheep” is the plea, and having heard the track, a sense of
foreboding doom and terror pervades.
If…1….2 sees experimenting of a more electronic sound from the late 70s
and early 80s – broken voices and occasional bleeps over a throbbing bassline and
some delightful reverb. The track acts
as a sound collage and proves the ability to be able to produce something less
conventional.
The title track would please Primal Scream fans in their droves as
their characteristic bass driven trademark from past glories such as White Heat
and XTRMNTR as a continual electro beat once more gives a semi-instrumental
buzz.
Mixed by Martin Bisi (Sonic Youth, Afrika Bambaataa, Eno), Stop
Mute Defeat often has a clinical sound with rough edgy shards seemingly
protruding from every angle. His touch
adds an almost three dimensional sound to the album and an anthemic quality
particularly on Attack Mode with its wailing and weeping guitars chugging away
in the background.
The album is far more than experimental rock. It shows a band always willing to take risks
but at the same time making calculated ones and albums diverse enough to appeal
to genres which aren’t always necessarily adjacent. Stop Mute Defeat is as good a place as any to
start for the White Hills newcomer – it’s dark, moody and lively in varying amounts
and will guarantee several plays in straight succession. Be impressed.
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