White Hinterland Phylactery Factory by: Alex De Petro Wed:30-Apr-08 Label: Dead Oceans Year: 2008 WB rating 85 out of 100

Despite initially sounding like a poor-man’s Cat Power, White Hinterland’s (real name Casey Dienel) new album Phylactery Factory reveals itself to be an album of considerable musical and emotional depth, with Dienel showcasing her subtle and expressive vocal talents in playful yet jazzy sophistication. The follow-up to her 2006 album Wind Up Canary, the essential difference is that this album is much bigger, utilizing a broad range of instruments and styles without sounding derivative or forced.

The strength of the album lies in its ability to combine seemingly disparate elements. Opener ‘The Destruction of the Art Deco House’ is a perfect bookend to the album, setting the tone and pace, conjuring up mental images of the decrepit ballroom of the Overlook Hotel or perhaps a dance scene from some depression-era movie, and introducing Dienel’s impressive lyrical abilities. ‘Dreaming of Plum Trees’ begins with a simple piano intro, before introducing a carefree yet somewhat complex bass line, as Dienel sings in a slightly rushed but completely endearing tone.

The musicality of the album is not to be discounted, however, as each track features a carefully arranged composition of horns, strings, piano, bass and anything else close to hand. In fact it is Dienel’s unique vocal styling which makes this album what it is, able to change from pure sweetness to unadultered breathy sexuality. ‘Vessels’, the album’s final track, is a haunting, melodic affair, consisting of a sparsely strummed acoustic guitar and a leering horn line towards the end of the piece rounding out Dienel’s almost desperate vocals.

One thing that does hold Phylactery Factory back is the ostensible similarity between the tracks, but on the second, third or fourth listen this dissipates as the simple beauty of the album as a whole takes over and the listener is drawn in to the subtle narratives that Dienel weaves into her songs. Each track tells a story of its own, the album as a whole offering a strange message of hope, and Dienel’s take on war and politics. ‘Napoleon at Waterloo’ and ‘Hometown Hooray’ are two light and fluffy anti-war tracks, again using a prose style of lyricism to present the significance of the song, but sugar-coating this with an almost childlike quality to the music.

What is most impressive about this album is the maturity and sophistication of Casey Dienel herself – which she manages to carry off without sounding pretentious or self-satisfied even for a moment. After her solo debut Wind Up Canary, which was mostly described by critics as a strong album but not an outstanding one, the operatically and classically trained Dienel, at just 22, has come out with a record that may come to be seen as an early masterpiece in an illustrious, if undervalued, career.