Originally released in 2007, White Hills second album Glitter Glamour Atrocity was a limited release affair of about 500 copies and has long since become something of a collectors item for fans. It is with fortuitous timing and a capitalisation on the current cult success of the band that they finally get round to remastering it and releasing it properly. And let's be thankful for that because as it stands, this is an album which really deserves a wider audience and now we can bask in the full glory of one of their more overtly political works.
Straddling the music of Heads on Fire and Abstractions & Mutations (the songs all originate from the same sessions), there is a much rawer feel about these tracks and the message being delivered is one loud and clear. This is music from a band who were right at the centre of the horrific attacks on 9/11 and felt the full impact of the Bush administration for what it was. Strange then that this message still feels highly relevant, like nothing much has really changed. More of a warning than a threat now, it's all the more powerful for it given recent world events.
So how about the music? Well, after a subdued intro from 'Air Waves' we are thrust straight into the tumultuous garage rock of 'Under Skin Or By Name', a song which has formed a staple part of the live set since first release and has taken a life of it's own with its inclusion in Jim Jarmusch Only Lovers Left Alive. Here it sounds like the fires of hell are burning and the threat of attack is imminent. It's The Stooges for the 21st Century and threatens to implode at any moment.
Respite is offered as White Hills then take their time to explore more inner sounds as they encapsulate a more spacier feeling than before. The dull throb of 'Spirit of Exile' is one of the best songs here and strips there sound right back to the bare minimum with a paean to free thinking and free speech being trod on by heavier forces. White Hills have never come so near to making a song so bluntly political, apart from maybe later on in this album.
'Distance' zones you out of this mindset until the dulcet tones of an acoustic guitar (and yes, you heard that right) of 'Somewhere Along The Way' brings you right back down to earth. It's a quiet mid section of the album which in anybody else's hands would utterly fail but here it is needed before the next sonic attack from White Hills.
That sonic attack begins in the form of marching jackboots as the grinding 'Long Serve Remember' begins it's alienating march towards destruction. It's industrial music but not as you know it and as retort of “never question these words I say” rings out, the music causes an avalanche of noise which sounds just like the inexorable march of a capitalist society crushing the minions underfoot. Make no mistake, there is no mixed messages here, White Hills are stating it just as they see it.
As the extraordinary middle section of this song breaks down the song takes another turn as a lone voice singing a bastardised version of the national anthem gives way to a sample of George Bush admitting that he was wrong about everything. It's a totally jaw-dropping moment and one feels the pain of the band as behind the sample a native American voice chimes out and Bush makes his amends. There is no other song quite like this and if they play it live on their forthcoming tour there are going to be more than a few heads blown.
This all breaks down into what can only be the sound of what it must have felt like on the streets of New York on that terrible day. Sirens wail and a guitar speaks for the people's screams as once again shades of the national anthem creep through in a complete subversion of what Jimi Hendrix did at Woodstock. The admission of guilt was all lies once again and we have all been blinded...again.
After this behemoth of a track it's left to 'Passage' to guide us on to the title track 'Glitter Glamour Atrocity' and as that chugging riff kicks in it almost seems as if there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Totally rock and roll, it's as if music has an answer to the political implications of the day. Once again encapsulating that spirit of the sixties and in particular the Detroit garage sound, it's not long before the space noises provide an almost dance like feel to the song and we enter pure psych territory.
This then turns into an epic jam as the music drops down into dub beats and washes of synths fill the gaps in between the drums. It's the calm before the storm though as once again the sampled voices develop into a stunning riposte against the Bush and his legacy. 9/11 and the war on terror looms large and we are left with no doubt about the destructive nature of that particular administration. It's a brave end to a brave album and churns on for nigh on fifteen minutes of some of the most intense music you may ever hear.
It's easy to knock bands who delve into politics with their music but here White Hills are simply performing the task of opening our eyes to a crucial moment in history, and let us not forget one they lived in the eye of the storm for.Ever more pertinent as the years go by this may in fact be the most important album of their career and it's timely re-release can only open more peoples eyes.
Get this album, it may sound heavy going but it's surprisingly not. There is a great sensibility to the song structures which never over demand anything from the listener and it all hinges on a couple of quieter moments which only serve to accentuate the full power of Glitter Glamour Atrocity. Let's hope that they find time to play this album live too, preferably in full. A stone cold masterpiece given a fresh lease of life.
