Whirlpool

Chapterhouse, like Slowdive, came from Reading and were part of a wider Thames Valley collective that included Ride, Swervedriver and Thousand Yard Stare. I suppose their name came from a Dune-novel rather than the upper-class college most of Genesis attended? They appeared in 1990 with the 'Free Fall' and 'Sunburst' e.p.'s and a strong live reputation - the frequent encore was their Loop-style thrash 'Die Die Die' - which was once hard to find and is now included as a bonus track.

1991 saw the release of debut 'whirlpool' which has dated wonderfully - unlike several albums by their peers (think 'Everything's Alright Forever', Curve, The Catherine Wheel, Moose & Pale Saints) - the sound is close to that of AR Kane and Cocteau Twins and all the better for that. The original 9-track album is a lush sequence, ideal for a summer day, some perfect sex, hallucinatory plane-trips, insomnia, pastoral exploration or ethereal contemplation (as Julian Cope once said "It's just like sleeping gas- it's so ethereal!"). This is perhaps the place to turn after Cocteau Twins' 'Heaven or Las Vegas' - the point where many found Guthrie & co to become less vital.

Opener 'breather' is a joy, as is the later 'autosleeper' - though the one-word titles became a bit of a general cliche in the early 1990s and you wonder if the song title 'treasure' is ever needed by an indie-alternative band? The lead track from 'Free Fall' appears a bit harder than the 1990 version, but generally the same - its beats having more in common with Primal Scream's 'Loaded', while over the top drones and feedback and a pop song of sorts is present. 'Sunburst's 'Something More' closes the LP and is radically re-recorded- it does sound fine and deserves to find its way onto a film's soundtrack, but it's very Cocteau Twins and a shame that the 1990 original isn't included (just for completist sake!).

The beats of 'Falling Down' continued on third single and closest thing Chapterhouse had to a hit - 'Pearl'. This is the one with 'When the Levee Breaks' style drums (all the rage in the late 80s/early 90s - mostly in dance-orientated and hip-hop music) and additional vocals from Slowdive's Rachel Goswell. It's proof that so-called alternative acts could create perfect pop songs - and deserves to rank alongside similar examples of the era: Teenage Fanclub's 'God Knows It's True', Ride's 'vapour trail', Ultra Vivid Scene's 'Staring at the Sun', Pale Saints' 'Sight of You', Stone Roses' 'Elephant Stone', Spiritualized's 'Anyway That You Want Me', Verve's 'Slide Away' & Curve's 'Ten Little Girls.' A classic waiting to be rediscovered and ideal for any 2006 summer soundtrack...

This reissue of 'whirlpool' (whose cover is wonderful and the best cat on cover since Depeche Mode's 'Just Can't Get Enough') now comes with several bonus tracks, taken from 'Free Fall', 'Sunburst' & the 'Pearl'-single. 'Come Heaven' and 'In My Arms' were good enough to make the album - while the cover of The Beatles' 'Rain' is fine and fits well on a compilation back to back with Husker Du's 'Eight Miles High.'

'whirlpool' warrants rediscovery in this expanded/remastered form and should appeal to people who listen to such acts as Delays, Sigur Ros, Jeniferever (or whatever they're called!), Ambulance Ltd. & Silver Mt Zion. One that sits well alongside last year's Cocteau Twins box-set, the recent Ride & Slowdive reissues and the revered 'Loveless.'


Sonic Boom   February 27, 2006
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

Its easy to forget, but even in 1991 indie music didn't really sell. So for bands like Chapterhouse success was grazing the perimeter of the Top 40 with the occasional single and selling out the Town and Country Club. This is a pity because Chapterhouse had much more of a commerical sensibility than many of the "shoegazer" bands they were lumped together with, and songs like Breather or Pearl are just the sort of things that break bands into the big time these days. Still, those were the days when bands were "yours" so I guess we should all be happy for that. Highly recommended.