Album Review: hubris. – White Shores

Album Review: hubris. – White Shores

Reviewed by Oli Gonzalez

There’s something in the water in Switzerland! A nation producing artists like Schammasch, Zeal & Ardour, Leech, Abraham, and countless more genre pushing metal and rock acts. And of course Tommy ‘Warrior’ Fischer and his priceless contributions through acts like Celtic Frost and Triptykon! Now under the spotlight today is Hubris!

A new band for me, a band that graced the stages of Post Festival and Dunk! in the USA and Belgium respectively! A dive into their discography and previous album “Apocryphal Gravity” revealed a rather aesthetically pleasing take on post rock, as well as song titles inspired by Greek mythology (the fact that ‘Beyond Styx, Pt1’ is playing right now as I type this sums this point up). Though “White Shores” marked a change in thematic direction. See, the eagle-eyed amongst us will notice the little Easter egg when you arrange the song titles together:

• Death
• Is
• Just
• Another
• Path

This a reference not to ancient Greece but rather to the Lord Of Rings, a quote from Gandalf forming part of one of many memorable speeches in the epic fantasy series. Though the album has deeper meaning, one that tackles the very real and relatable topic of grief, as band founder Johnathan Hohl experienced when his grandfather passed away. He explained that he wanted to write an album that explored the 5 stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Though it should be pointed out that ‘Path’ is split into two songs, to make a clunky and awkward 6 songs; surely it would make more sense just to keep ‘Path’ as one song rather than 2? In either case, understanding this makes listening to the album so much more deeper and richer. Especially as you can feel the album flow through different moods and emotional states. Take the closing moments of the second song ‘is’. You’ll be introduced to one of the louder and faster segments of the album representing this state of anger, whereas later in the album. Quieter and more mournful segments later in the album represent not only the more mournful states of depression but also an opportunity to build tension and intrigue, all before being released in a huge cathartic burst in the album’s crescendo towards the very end of the album. Thereby representation a state of acceptances and the associated relief.

So, why not just write the album about grief and loss and be more direct? Johnathan explained he felt this would be too morbid and on the nose, and much like Gandalf’s speech to Pippin, he wanted to explain that death and loss can be interpreted in different ways.

Once again, understanding this underlying philosophy creates a deeper connection to the music beyond just a random collection of notes and sounds. Though there’s still plenty on the surface level to be appreciated too. Especially if you’re a fan of MONO, Wang Wen, or even Alcest (especially with ‘Souvenirs d’un autre monde’). Perhaps more on the melodic and loungey end of the spectrum, and not so much the crushing atmospheric and all-consuming end.

With an already stacked year for post rock and metal, Hubris will be asserting their way into a few top ten AOTY lists, and making the final curation of said lists so much more challenging for the likes of yours truly!

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