Review Summary: It never gets old. Just more cynical.
After
Cruise came and went, William Bennett decided it was time to embrace new styles and themes. Considering he had a tendency to repeat tired ideas over and over again, it came as a surprise to many that Will would throw out the PE rule book in the making of
Bird Seed. To put it bluntly, there isn't a single Whitehouse album like Bird Seed. It is one of the most iconic Whitehouse albums ever made for a damn good reason.
Like many Whitehouse albums, first impressions are everything. With that in mind, no first impression could be better than
Why You Never Became A Dancer, a two and a half-minute affair of pounding drum beats filtered repeatedly to the point of near inaudibility. Despite it's short length, the track is by far one of his best and William's endless ranting adds to the rage that is conveyed through the powerful drum beats.
Wriggle Like A Fucking Eel uses a distorted string scratch that it extended over repeated synth beats. Once again we are given angry ranting by William Bennett which really helps set the tone for most of the album. The difference here, is that his lyrics have become much more cryptic than they used to be. For example:
"You boy
What's it like to wet your foot in a cold swimming pool？
What does your voice sound like underwater？
At night？
Can you do the chickenskin swim？
Can you do the chlorine gargoyle？
Can you wriggle like an eel？
The charm in a lot of this album is in its audacious sense of toying with the mind. It's almost as if Will is attempting to enter your mind, to uncover new ways to make the listener feel uncomfortable. Things get a little poor with the track
Bird Seed which generally repeats the familial abuse aesthetic from the girl trilogy of albums. At this point it really conflicts with the rest of the album, but it isn't enough to detract from the immersion too much.
Philosophy is a genuine return to the days of
Erector with powerful, distorted synths screeching across the track while Bennett echoes his vocals to convey a sort of apotheosis in his imagery. Slowly he turns up the volume on the noises, but never screams vocally. It is an odd contradiction to say the least.
At the beginning of the early 2000's, William had become a lot more interested in the Afro and Tribal music genres, and had begun using other basic instruments like bongos and simple drum tunes. With
Cut Hands Has The Solution his ranting is heard clearly over the backdrop of a simple drum beat. The excellence in the track lies in the drum beat, as no other instruments are used for the entire track. Despite this, one can't help but feel trepidation as if, despite nothing new happening, things are going to get worse. The track is excellent at bringing a sense of tension and fear to the listener.
Munkisi Munkondi is unlike anything I have ever heard before. Tribal drums are endlessly beating in intensity as a slow tape stretch rolls across the track like a creaking door in the dead, black of night. At some point a small, distorted horn can be heard, along with what I think are trumpets. It's almost like the track is a band, playing as if they have no idea what they are doing.
Bird Seed was the piece of revolution a lot of Whitehouse fans had been begging for. Yes, change can be hard at points, but for Whitehouse, it was long overdue. Through all of its wackiness and vague symbolism,
Bird Seed discovers a new horizon for Whitehouse, and would influence many other Industrial acts over the years, whether avant-garde or mainstream.
