3 out of 5

Label: Italy Records

Produced by: Jack White

I’m trying to cast my mind back to before I’d heard Whirlwind Heat’s Do Rabbits Wonder?, to figure how I would’ve received Glaxefusion, one of the group’s early singles. Two of these tracks would appear in sharpened forms on that album, but the remaining track – Valletta – is definitely of the same breed of Brainiac squiggles, which is a much more pronounced influence here.

…And that’s the rub. My opinions of Jack White and the Stripes are whatever, but I wouldn’t deny the man’s talent, and ear for a rock ‘n’ roll tune, and I’d suspect that blended with the Heat boys’ various interests to hone Rabbits into something that streamlined those interests with blazing guitars. White is recording here as well, but the original version of this wasn’t on his label; we’ll suppose his role was a bit more supportive.

Meaning that the WH trio is allowed to maybe abuse that Brainiac adoration, such that a song that was redone on the album, as, I think, ‘Brown’ – here called He Metamorphisis She – was pretty blistering in its later version, but in this demo iteration sounds like a straight up mimic of Schmersal’s guitar hijinx and Tim Taylor’s vocal acrobatics. Similarly, the lead-in Valletta maybe isn’t a direct rift, but the way the team manipulates the pitch is, again, a trick used on Rabbits and yet seems less inspired on Glaxefusion. Like, the album felt enthused; this just feels a little… eager.

Which isn’t the worst thing. So wrapping back around, before I would’ve heard a pro’s take on these tunes, Whirlwind Heat’s Glaxefusion warrants forever mentions of Brainiac: that some art school kids found some used CDs, bought a used synthesizer, and tried their best to mimic the sound. There are worse things to copy, and even if there’s not a real sense of identity behind the songs, they’re also not bad – they’re weird enough, and they’re catchy, and they have a meaty and sloppiness to them that’s fun.

I’ve skipped over the B-side – Decal: Sticker is maybe ‘Black’ from Rabbits (admittedly I’m not comparing; just going based on the colors mentioned in the lyrics, but both the songs mentioned are definitely on both releases), and is more of a rock riff. The guitars are even thicker, here (the White effect), but I’d still say the album version’s tighter presentation is ultimately better.