White Hills are on top of their game with H-p1

There seems to be only so much you can do with a stoner rock / space rock hybrid sound, but White Hills always seems to push that sound just a little bit further. With their latest album, H-p1, White Hills advance that sound one step more. Over the course of 70 minutes and two LPs, White Hills manage to bring together all that is great about their music. The band seamlessly blends some heavy 70’s rock riffs, drone, and psychedelic space rock as well, resulting in what might be their best album yet.

The pinnacle of the band’s space noise can be appreciated best on the track “Paradise.” This song is loaded with swirling guitars and looping bass rhythms. The track “No Other Way” relies on a nice spacey bass groove through the early portions of the song; however, when you’re not paying attention, the sounds changes into a towering guitar storm. Later, the rock makes way for some otherworldly drone on “A Need to Know” and “Head In Hand.” When it comes down to it, White Hills know how to work a heavy rock riff and they do so masterfully on “The Condition of Nothing.” While these songs are outstanding, for my money nothing touches the album’s title track. Saving the best for last, White Hills unleash “H-p1” after wearing down all of the listener’s defenses. An epic track clocking in at over 17 minutes, “H-p1” is the ultimate White Hills song. Stoner rock grooves, big meandering guitar solos, psychedelic passages, and ambient drone come together and became something no longer defined by its parts. In some ways this track feels like the culmination of everything While Hills recorded previously.

H-p1 is a document of White Hills at the top of their game. Do yourself a favor and find your way to your local shop or Thrill Jockey’s shop and get this record, then make some time in the late hours of your day to sit down, plug in your headphones and really absorb this.

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