White Hills : "the Revenge of Heads on Fire"

This duo sounds continues to evolve. This is a re-imagining of their "Heads on Fire " album from 2007. The songs are re-worked and re-mixed.  Now it is something clearly more stoner rock than psych- garage rock. Things are still trippy, but heavier. The vocals drifting as the drums batter against the swirl of sonics swarming the song. There is still a very 60s throb to it. The guitar does have a Jimi Hendrix influence in the sounds summoned in the feedback drenched melodies plucked from it. "Inoke Tupo" picks up where the previous trip ends, yet it is only an interlude of sounds indulged in. The fuzz of "Oceans of Sound" embarks furthers on the fuzzed Sabbath worship, dosed with hippie wet dreams of yester year. The heavy-handed drumming reverberates with a punk rawness. The vocals work off a more droned chant than a vocal melody.

"Speed Toilet" isa acid induced atmospheric instrumental. There is more structure to the brooding bass line of "Is This the Road" which is equally as hypnotic, but more structured and purposeful even as it circles the cloud of pot smoke it feels to have been made from. "VTDS' is another ambient interlude rather than a full song. I prefer things more in the direction of where they do in the darker "Don't Be Afraid" that hovers somewhere between old Pink Floyd, and Psychic TV.  At 21 minutes long well, that is getting a bit carried away. Once you pass the ten-minute mark and it becomes a abstract mess with your mind moment. It does build up, but this has a great deal of fat to be trimmed.  You could write "Visions of the Past Present and Future" sound like a jam band version of Motorhead, but what you would really be saying is it sounds like Hawkwind. 

There is a cool groove to "Silent Violence" that makes up for the fact the vocals drone on the same pattern the entire song. Though tht is consistent with the vibe they are on this album. "Eternity" closes the album in more straight forward fashion, which is more along the lines of what I think of when this band comes to mind. It is exciting to hear their continued expansion of the sonic colors they paint with. I will give this one a 9. This drops September 16th. 

6.5