Review: White Manna - Pan

This year just keeps getting better and better; having just drawn breath after Anthroprophh, YSNBWATID, Blown Out, The Myrrors and Hey Colossus (amongst many others) along comes a new White Manna LP that is simply mind-blowing. This should come as no surprise to anyone who owns any / all of the previous material released by our favourite Californian heads. 'Pan' is a split release, coming out on May 26th on Captcha Records in the US and on Cardinal Fuzz in the UK and Europe. Working in collaboration with the labels on this release are Analog Masters which "is a course at Humboldt State University. This course introduces students into the production side of the musical recording industry. Students will function as the hybrid of the artist as designer, curator,producer and business manager." This takes an innovative approach to 'teaching' people about the music biz - students are given experience in, and resposibility for, all aspects of releasing material, both digital and analog products. In the case of this release they are taking the responsibility for marketing the release. It is a great idea and another reason, aside from the fact that this LP is storming, for it to be a success - good luck guys!

To the music then; the basic formula is the same - some hard and heavy space rock with kosmische undertones held together with some filthy guitars. Groundbreaking it is not but what White Manna do, White Manna do very, very well (as anyone who saw them at last years Liverpool Psych Fest will attest)

'Pan' is so named after the Greek god of nature and rustic music, and landscape is acknowledged by guitarist David Johnson as being an important part of the birth of the LP; “…the trees, beaches, and open spaces where we live are all integral parts of our approach to music.”. Like the windswept Californian coastline 'Pan' has areas of pure, unbridled power with waves of fuzz battering your ears but round the next corner there are secluded spots of more pastoral introspection providing a brief break from the weather - it is the aural equivalent to travelling the Big Sur on a Harley Davidson.

The opener is 'Pan' which kicks off straight away with a squeal of feedback and into some heavy space rock that makes Hawkwind sound like lily-livered folk singers. The riffs never stop and add some organ and some space-y electronic swishes and swirls and you have a classic of the genre just there. The vocals, reminiscent of the Black Angels, add to the overall effect. 'Dunes I' has a definite proto-punk sound to it, like they channelled the spirit of Ron Asheton or 'Sonic' Smith into the studio - the feedback and energy drives it forward until it breaks down, the feedback giving way to some clarity and some Doorsian wailing vocals, but the tempo soon picks up again; I don't know why but it really put me in mind of some early Walkingseeds stuff. 'Dunes II' starts off in a much gentler manner; some simple guitar, some muted feedback and reverb soaked vocals. The tempo remains constant but some great psych guitar joins the fun towards the end. The lead single from the LP is 'Evil' (stream below)and is another Stoogian, punked-up foray into pure fuzz. I say Stoogian, but with just a change of vocalist, this could BE the Stooges. 'Beta Travelers' sees us firmly back into space territory and paying homage at the altar of Hawkwind with some heavy riffs and swirling wah-wah. 'Eshra', at over 11 minutes, is the longest track on the LP and, in keeping with the ethos of landscape and coastline, it starts with the sound of waves washing a shoreline before growing into an extended space rock jam, but with more than a touch of the kosmische with some motorik drums under layers of fuzz, reverb and feedback. This is probably my fave track on the LP...it certainly pushes all the psych / kraut / space buttons for me.



The vinyl version of the album has two bonus tracks, including a live cover of 'Master of the Universe' and comes in a groovy splatter coloured vinyl - all good!

'Pan' continues White Manna's run of quality records...they may not be breaking any new ground, but they are ensuring that the ground they do cover has their name indelibly stamped on it. A fantastic sounding LP that I'm sure, when the vinyl arrives, will be on heavy rotation on most peoples' turntables. For those that like to compile 'best of...' end-of-year lists, 2015 is going to be a bastard and White Manna have thrown their hats squarely into the ring. There are also limited numbers at the Dayz of Purple shop here.