Atrist: Agalloch | Album: The White EP | Music Review

Tracklist:
1. The Isle of Summer

2. Birch Black

3. Hollow Stone

4. Pantheist

5. Birch White

6. Sowilo Rune

7. Summerisle Reprise

Release Date: 02/29/2008 Summary: The Mantle Director's Cut...but there's more to it than that.
1 of 1 thought this review was well written

In 2002, Agalloch released The Mantle, an album which would garner them a cult following and immeasurable praise. Two years later, the Grey was released. The Grey was an EP that took two songs from the Mantle and took them into two completely different perspectives. Two years after that, their third Full-Length, Ashes Against the Grain, was released with praise. Some fans however, wished for Agalloch to retain their folkish sound. Six years after The Mantle, Agalloch have an odd response to fans, one which will likely divide them into two camps.



The White is a difficult beast. The short way to describe it is picture if The Mantle was a DVD. The White would be the Deleted scenes and alternate ending on said DVD. This is honestly, the best way I can describe it. Some parts on this cd, mainly the transitions between songs, do feel as if someone pressed the skip scene button which lands you on a sudden and somewhat confused point.



The EP begins with children chanting, “We Carry Death, Out of the Village!” on the Isle of Summer. This track is a solid opening with classic Agalloch folk elements. The only thing I find annoying on this song is there is an electric clean guitar part that comes in near the end that sounds incredibly out of place and rather juvenile for Agalloch’s usually mature sound.



Birch Black comes in suddenly after the calm Isle. Going back to my movie reference, this song sounds like your being chased in a dark forest without knowing where exactly you are going or exactly what you are running from. The song has a great feel with acoustic strumming overlapped by strong bass drums and electric guitars. This, like Isle, is an instrumental.



Skip a few scenes. Now, we are at a serene pond. Perhaps you are dead or dying and flashes of the afterlife appear before your eyes. The name of this scene is Hollow Stone. This is a haunting track with angelic voices and ambient noises. It is infinitely hard to describe, but this is definitely one of my favorites on the EP.



Pantheist, the next track, is along the same lines. A catchy acoustic riffs with John’s chanting vocals. Accompanied with pounding drums, this is best described as a folk-drone song. This is a decent track, but it is the first time that I have though that an Agalloch song can be too long.



Skip scene to Birch White. This is another standout track. With an accordion and acoustic opening, this is much more upbeat. Haughm’s minimalist, calm vocals tell a story with this going on. This goes on until halfway through and then someone hits the skip scene to a rather sad acoustic interlude until it fades into the chirping of birds.



Sowilo Rune is the most complete track on the EP. With expertly placed synths, pianos, acoustics…it’s got it all. The relaxing raspy vocals, though barely audible, add perfectly to the atmosphere. Then, electric guitars with minimalism come in to close it.



This song is also perhaps why many were and will be let down by this release. It sounds so complete, like an Agalloch Full-Length song, and many expected that this would be a more typical release. It’s not. From the start the band said this would not be indicative of what their future sound will be like. So this is a warning to all who expect otherwise: GO INTO THIS EP WITH AN OPEN MIND.



Closing out the EP is Summerisle reprise. It definitely feels like an ending, and has little in common with the similarly named opener. It is very ambient and mostly consists of a lone piano. It is incredibly somber with the piano almost whispering its notes. However, this song is pretty epic when it begins to use the riff established in the EP’s opener. This leads into more clips from The Wicker Man and the EP fades out.



Overall, this is a solid release, one that satisfies more so than any of Agalloch’s other EPs. The biggest problem with this EP though, is it is not a full-length. Almost all of the songs are instrumental here, and while this doesn’t make it automatically bad, it just feels like they don’t have a point. Imagine having a third of the Mantle’s Shadow of our Pale Comparison instead of the whole song and you sort of get my point. There is also little to nothing connecting these tracks together, something that Agalloch is known for. These tracks are better looking at them individually, then as a cohesive whole.



In the end, this is another solid release from Agalloch, though it might not be what you expected. This is definitely the perfect companion to The Mantle, so if you liked that, you will like this. Is it the answer fans expected? No, not at all. However, it is a typical Agalloch move. Revisiting and giving some closure to arguably their best album thus far, it will be interesting and exciting to see what happens next. Your move, Agalloch.