White Hills – “Measured Energy” b/w “The Uncommon Parallel That Resides Between Your Fingertips” 7” (Trensmat)
Rather than offer their most immediate material on the short format, White Hills go for their most abstract. And like Sammy Johns once sang, that’s all right with me. “Measured Energy” sounds like a video-game approximation of Cluster jamming with a digeridoo improv ace, while a shortwave radio in the background gives up its tenuous hold on being in tune to any station. The flip is a big, echo-laden bit of guitar racket that sounds like it could only have been realized by smacking the sound against both walls of a very large room. Dark purple vinyl and sleeve images of obscured eyes only enhance the notion that this is psychedelia, but not psychedelic rock. The much longer bonus tune that comes with the download (not sure if it’ll continue to be available that-away once the records dry up) is much closer to the long-form, none-too-hasty rock that White Hills provides on longer formats. Brevity may be the soul of their wit. (http://www.transmat.com)
(Bill Meyer)
