NOTABLE: White Hinterland, the Moon, and the Melodies
Posted by Mat | Filed under Music
Gorilla vs Bear recently enlightened me to the existence of White Hinterland and their new song Icarus.
Their earlier stuff seems to fall into the “chick and a piano” genre, which I’m not a major fan of – I like Bat for Lashes when they have a beat, and have never really enjoyed the raging viking commonly known as Tori Amos. But the new song, Icarus, is a different beast altogether.
The comparison being thrown around are to The XX, and that sounds to be more of a “hey, you like this buzz-band, you’ll like this,” than something really based on style or mood. Yes, they both make use of sonic negative space, but as I said in the 09 Best ofs, The XX’s uses negative space for contrast – their pedigree is closer to a band like Slowdive (to be discussed in further detail tomorrow – watch out). Instead, Icarus, seems to pull it’s influences from something a bit older. So first, give a listen:
I hear layers – cascades of complimentary sounds. I hear touches of keyboards that make me think ambiance.
Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror – on Brian Eno’s second trip into inventing a sound that has reached forward and influences music to this day, he brought along pianist Harold Budd.
Come ‘86, Budd would collaborate with the Cocteau Twins, who themselves influence dreamy and spacey music to this day, to create a very overlooked album.
The Moon and the Melodies, here’s Icarus’ ancestor.
Treat the vocals as another layer, dig deeper, it’s there. Washed out sounds highlighted by hints of keyboard, hung together on a synthetic beat. Wistful sounds.
Tags: cocteau twins, harold budd, notable, the xx, white hinterland
3 Responses to “NOTABLE: White Hinterland, the Moon, and the Melodies”
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Dum Dum Girls - Jail La La, you are here at last | View From the 101 Says:
February 16th, 2010 at 2:22 pm[...] promise, I promise, the promised XX vs Slowdive post is [...]
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LIKE AS – Slowdive and The XX | View From the 101 Says:
February 18th, 2010 at 5:32 pm[...] noted in the review of White Hinterland’s Icarus along with the ‘09 Best ofs, it’s time to nut up on my assertion that there’s a [...]
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Listenable – White Hinterland: Kairos - underwater ice music | View From the 101 Says:
March 5th, 2010 at 10:45 am[...] begins with the previously discussed Icarus, which serves more to set the listener up for a softer, more layer and ethereal, sound. The [...]
