Whitehouse "Mummy and Daddy" review
Erik Hoffman
Whitehouse "Mummy and Daddy" SLCD020
Well, at long last the latest from the masters of the overviolence is now available. Being such
a huge fan of Whitehouse I must admit that I find it hard to not like anything that they have
recorded. But I must say that this CD is one of the real good ones. Whitehouse take a turn with
regards to the sound this time. It sounds as if they have purchased some new gear with the money
from all the CD re-issues. I think it was money well spent. I have yet to pinpoint what they
have added but it sounds as if they are doing some very heavy digital processing. It sounds as if
they are still using the old synths for sound sources but they have really fucked with the sound.
This CD is mastered with exceptional quality. The new Trevor Brown art is mild but still good.
The booklet is similar to "Quality Time".
There are 5 tracks on this CD. Track 1, "Philosophy of a Wife Beater", is a subdued, dark track
with Bennetts vocals at a whisper well under the rest of the sound. It clocks in at 5 and a half
minutes and is a great mood setter for the following assault.
Track 2, "Worthless", is a short instrumental track that is recorded VERY loud. I almost blew
the shit out of my speakers when it kicked in. This is as close to the sound of the past couple
of Whitehouse albums as any of the tracks here.
Track 3, "A Cunt Like You", is a remix of "Just Like a Cunt" from the "Quality Time" album. It
is processed with a whole hell of a lot of really cool digital effects. It sounds as if
William's voice is chopped up and spliced back together creating a very interesting listen. You
hear all the words but were they in the right order?? I don't know but it was real nice. It
sounds nothing like the original.
Track 4, "Daddo", is, hands down, the best track. It is just over 12 minutes long and again is
very heavily processed. I can't compare it to anything at this time but it IS NOT traditional
Whitehouse! It is a sound journey taking you to many different places. Describing it would not
do it justice. I will not even try.
Track 5, "Private", is a 22 minute collection of sound bites from interviews by victims of wife
beaters, rapists, child molesters, murderers and all kinds of deviants. There are some real
difficult words here. If you get off on the pain of others you will love this track.
First, keep in mind that I consider myself a reviewer. I hate describing sounds. I hated
English in school. I just wanted to let people know that this a very good album. If you are at
all interested in Whitehouse you must have this album.
Stig Mathausen
Couple of questions:
Erik Hoffman wrote:
>
> Track 4, "Daddo", is, hands down, the best track. It is just over 12 minutes long and again is
> very heavily processed. I can't compare it to anything at this time but it IS NOT traditional
> Whitehouse! It is a sound journey taking you to many different places. Describing it would not
> do it justice. I will not even try.
>
but: does it tend toward the harsh/assaultive or more subdued side of the WH sound, or is it all
over the place?
> Track 5, "Private", is a 22 minute collection of sound bites from interviews by victims of wife
> beaters, rapists, child molesters, murderers and all kinds of deviants. There are some real
> difficult words here. If you get off on the pain of others you will love this track.
>
Is it just interview bites (a la "Buyer's Market", or at least what I understand that disc is
like), or is there any sonic accompanyment?
Erik Hoffman
>
> but: does it tend toward the harsh/assaultive or more subdued side of the WH sound, or is it all
> over the place?
This is not the standard harsh assault. It fluctuates between subdued
and heavy.
> Is it just interview bites (a la "Buyer's Market", or at least what I understand that disc is
> like), or is there any sonic accompanyment?
Yeah it is just interview bites ala Buyer's Market