5-piece (possibly 6 now) White Heath, would rather you didn’t concentrate too much on their non-standard line-up. They claim it’s down more to necessity (i.e. that’s what the could play) than any kind of arch design. But, we all know what they say about necessity. And, it is the unique inventiveness of this bunch that seems to have garnered them the appellation ‘the most exciting band in Scotland’ today.
And here we have their debut album Take No Thought For Tomorrow. Nine songs – some familiar, some new – that, together, hang as something special. And, to date, which seem to only get bigger and more textured with each listen.
Like it or not, a lot of this is down to the shape/line-up of the band. We get dark ambient drone, jazzy lullaby, triumphal march. Seamless, and seemingly obvious – and that’s just the opener Maker. Not only the irregular arrangement, but also, there is Sean Watson’s singular vocal style. Part folk lament, part emo whine (in the good way) he puts me in mind of some lunatic raging at the sea from atop a cliff. Which does nothing to describe how he sounds. And, everything.
Part of the joy of this is how brilliantly producer Jim Sutherland manages to capture the dynamic of the band. There are parts of this that sound as huge as a whole orchestra (see deceptively poppy single GG), yet you can pick out each instrument. Also, the more intimate moments (stand up stripped back redo of 7:38am – sounding like that’s when it was recorded) are never overshadowed.
The strange eastern melody of When The Watchmen Leave Their Stations’ (ah, a band with impeccable punctuation) and huge swirling chorus should be enough to convince anyone of just how good this band are. Well, it’s got eight mates just as good.
You might not be able to put your finger on it, but you know you’re in the presence of something special. You know that way that Electric Honey can, every now and again, put something out that feels like it’s going to be important? This is one of them. Expect this to feature highly in every decent end of the year round up. Go get yourself a copy, you’ll be claiming to have been a fan all along this time next year. Also (in case you didn’t suss this out) it IS wonderful.
Just don’t bang on about the trombone.
- A New International - 5 March 2015
- The Phantom Band - 25 January 2015
- Deux Furieuses - 16 October 2014
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