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Tuesday, May 11, 2010

KNW YR PDX The Whines - Hell to Play

Posted by Mattey Hunter on Tue, May 11, 2010 at 9:44 AM

TheWhinesHellToPlay.jpg

This past month saw the release of the debut LP from The Whines entitled Hell To Play. If you were lucky to catch their release show then good for you, because unfortunately I missed it. And now, in the WTF move of the century, their singer (Karianne) has decided to take off for Alaska just as her band picks up speed. Though the buzz is slow to build, Hell To Play is gaining some important fans, rumor has it that even Thurston Moore was quite impressed upon hearing the record while visiting Portland for the Jandek vs. Moore show that took place a few weeks back.

Stylistically Hell To Play is much more than another lo-fi throwaway, and it would be a crime to judge it based on the contemporaries of the Whines alone—stop thinking Eat Skull and start thinking Neil Young. Their songs are dark, moody, honest, heartfelt and beautiful. And while the recording itself is obviously analog in format, this fact becomes almost entirely insignificant upon first listen. All in all, Hell To Play is a recording that is full of depth and quality.

LISTEN:

The Whines - "Staybird" (from Hell To Play, courtesy of Meds Records)

 

Comments (2) RSS

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1
Thurston Moore would probably also be impressed by a recording of a couple of monkeys banging on upended pots and pans and jumping up and down on de-tuned guitars, so I'm not sure that's the most ringing endorsement.
Posted by jake on May 11, 2010 at 11:40 AM · Report
2
I agree with Jake and think that I'd be more stoked on those monkeys than ever hearing anything that Thusrton did. I'm glad he didn't buy our record cause I never bought shit that he did.
Posted by jesse on May 11, 2010 at 3:32 PM · Report

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