Review Summary: The sound Agalloch should have held onto.
Agalloch has always been known for their atmosphere, and when it’s coupled with their trademarked “emotional riffing” it’s an unstoppable force which most bands cannot compete.
The White EP has Agalloch dropping the heavier portions of their sound for an organic and folk inspired approach to their world of desolation; the riffs still hold as much power as ever, but the darkness has been removed for something that’s more reflective. The band’s ability to transport the listener outside of their current environment is still very much in tact. You’ll forget about everything when you throw this on, and that is where its true power is held. While you’ll still have your worries, the feeling that
everything will be all right is clearly relayed. The crisp production, which works well for an instrumental album, allows all the instruments to be heard and is somewhat a continuation of the cleaner production heard on
Ashes Against The Grain.
Anyone familiar with the group’s other material knows the capability of John Haughm as both a vocalist and a lyricist, but he offers neither input on this album. It’s really hard to imagine vocals fitting well within the context of the short album; the meditative nature of the songs almost completely forbids it. Other than some chanting, samples of film dialogue, and a little spoken word, the voice of the album is left entirely up to the experience felt by the listener. While being regarded by many of their fans as a fall or winter band,
The White EP can be enjoyed during anytime of the year due to its overall realization of nature’s power and its overwhelmingly peaceful qualities. The songs themselves have a general setup at the beginning which is then repeated for the majority of the track, with a few build-ups and added extras thrown into the mix every once in awhile. Regardless, this was the last time Agalloch created their well known atmosphere successfully, due to their willingness to let the music sit and display itself and an excellent production which would be lost on their following release,
Marrow Of The Spirit.
