White Hills

New York's White Hills create trippy, synth-heavy rock & roll which draws from influences ranging from the Stooges and Hawkwind to stoner rock and post-punk. They began releasing their energetic fusion of Krautrock and space rock in 2003, and soon formed alliances with Rocket Recordings (U.K.) and Thrill Jockey (U.S.), both of whom issued editions of the band's 2007 album Heads on Fire. Albums like 2010's White Hills blended psychedelic rock with post-metal, while the band shifted towards industrial and goth rock with subsequent efforts like 2017's Stop Mute Defeat. For 2025's Drop Out III, the band revisited their earlier collaborations with British noise-rock collective Gnod.Formed in New York City, the band's only two consistent members have been singer and guitarist Dave W. and bassist Ego Sensation. They got their first break when Julian Cope remixed their 2003 debut and released it as They've Got Blood Like We've Got Blood on his own label in 2005. This kicked off a prolific string of releases, starting in 2007 with Abstractions & Mutations, released on Drug Space, and the self-released Glitter Glamour Atrocity (which was reissued by Thrill Jockey in 2014). Keeping the albums coming, the band self-released Little Bliss Forever in 2009, as well as Dead and Heads on Fire, both released by Thrill Jockey. The expansive trio hooked up with Manchester-based psychedelic drone collective Gnod for 2009's Drop Out and 2010's Gnod Drop Out with White Hills II. The collaborations continued with the self-titled White Hills, which featured fellow New Yorker and Oneida drummer Kid Million on drums. Keeping the Oneida connection strong, the band returned to its Ocropolis studio to work on their next album with Shahin Motia, resulting in 2011's H-P1. Not wasting any time, the band went back into the studio later that year, bringing synth player (and Julian Cope drummer) Antronhy and touring drummer Nick Name into the studio with them to record the spacy and more refined Frying on This Rock, which was released in 2012. A fair amount of touring and smaller releases filled 2012, with several live recordings and split releases leading up to 2013's bludgeoning full-length So You Are...So You'll Be. A startling change in direction marked 2015's Walks for Motorists. Gone were the band's guitar-heavy meltdowns, replaced by a far more groove-oriented set of songs, many lacking guitar altogether and focusing on burning, repetitive basslines or Krautrock-inspired synthesizer patterns. Following a few limited split releases and a short break in order to work on personal projects, White Hills returned in 2017 with the politically charged Stop Mute Defeat. This was followed in 2018 by Desire, a collaboration with Der Blutharsch and the Infinite Church of the Leading Hand. Splintered Metal Sky, issued by God Unknown in 2020, continued exploring industrial and post-punk influences. The Revenge of Heads on Fire, containing remixes of the songs from the band's 2007 album as well as rediscovered material from the same era, appeared in 2022 on the group's label, appropriately titled Heads on Fire Industries. Several limited and digital releases also surfaced, as well as the 2024 full-length Beyond This Fiction, which blended post-punk and space rock influences. White Hills returned to Thrill Jockey with 2025's Drop Out III, an expansion of their earlier collaborations with Gnod, containing never-before-released material as well as different versions of the previously issued tracks.
© Gregory Heaney & Paul Simpson /TiVo

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