Heads On Fire

White Hills is an explosive space rock trio from New York, far more interested in the heavy acid boogie of Hawkwind than in the quieter, more studied end of the sound exemplified by more recent bands like Charalambides. After releasing a series of limited-edition CD-Rs (one of which, They've Got Blood Like We've Got Blood, came to the attention of space rock uber fan Julian Cope, who remixed it and reissued it on his own label in the U.K.), Heads on Fire is the band's proper debut album. There is little subtlety to Heads on Fire: most of the album's six tracks are straightforward, heads-down jamming in the grand Hawkwind/Bevis Frond tradition, barring only the minute-long spaz-out "Return of Speed Toilet," and the 26-minute epic "Don't Be Afraid." The latter track is the album's high point, a slow-building monster that moves into the more complex musical structures and hypnotic rhythms of vintage Krautrock. "Don't Be Afraid" alone makes Heads on Fire a fairly essential listen for fans of contemporary psychedelia. ~ Stewart Mason