Bird Seed

Whitehouse "Bird Seed" LP [2009] [orig. 2003]
The UK Power Electronics masters Whitehouse release their 17th album on vinyl format as part of their ongoing collector's reissue programme. Just to fill you in, William Bennett is releasing 17 out of his 19 albums on vinyl in limited quantities, with bonus tracks wherever possible. This edition was originally put out on CD in 2003, coming hot on the heels of their much-famed "Cruise", an awesome album of varying sound and art.

This release follows up quite closely with some tracks seemingly sounding familiar, though as a whole offers something distinctly different. I did read up on the lyrics to this a few years back, but my memory fails me, though I do recall that they were brought together from various subjects and sources, creating something which is intently baffling and deliberately immediately nonsensical. You gotta dig deep, I guess.

One thing which bugs me about this release is the inclusion of yet another collage piece - the title track. It was best done on "Mummy & Daddy", though was revived for "Cruise" and seemed to work, yet on this release it bored me to death completely. Even with Sotos' "Buyer's Market" in my collection, I still didn't wanna hear another piece like this.

As a bonus, the vinyl release offers an additional track in the form of an extended instrumental version of "Wriggle Like A Fucking Eel", which I believe is taken from the 12" single. What sounds like thundering djembes is much more enhanced and placed over the original track's electronic squeal. It's a bit repetitive but still nice to have.
(4 out of 5)