Waterless Hills is a four piece instrumental band playing improvisational music based out of Manchester UK. The Great Mountain is their debut long player following a related two track limited edition 8″ lathe released last year on Sonido Polifonico.All the tracks on The Great Mountain were improvised and recorded over a one day period direct to 1/4″ tape.
The sound alternates between what I would describe as a dark type of avant-garde folk soundtrack that one might associate with the deep woods of West Virginia and some sort of desert drone psych. Either way tinged with Eastern influences. The first track An Untidy Country… starts off right in the swamps and conjures all kinds of dark imagery. The Law Of Hospitality follows and layers in some Eastern influences. Horns Lit By The Rising Sun is the longest track at 8:30 and recalls some of the desert type drones one might expect from the Myrrors or Dead sea Apes. The Garden Of The Tribe takes us back to the folk and serves as a brief interlude before bringing us to two more outstanding tracks An Insect Which Eats The Moon and They Squatted By The Tank In The Light of The Lantern, both part Desert drone part Gypsy music heavy on the Eastern influences. The LP really shines at it’s best on these longer desert drone tracks but the dark folk provides a nice balance to keep you on your toes.The album closes with the playful, folky, The Eastern Side Of Walantar. Overall this is an excellent LP and currently should be on many top of the year so far lists. Grab a copy while you still can
Co released on Cardinal Fuzz and Feeding Tube Records and limited to 150 frosted clear vinyl and 200 black vinyl. At the current time there are still copies available on the Feeding Tube page.
