White Manna: The Quintessential Humboldt Band
White Manna
Dune Worship
By Ben Allen
In many ways, White Manna is the quintessential Humboldt band. This is substance-inspired, modern psychedelic rock at its loudest and finest.
Opening track “Transformation” beats a two chord chugging groove into submission, while guitarist/vocalist David Johnson’s vocals float hauntingly in the background.
Another highlight is “Illusion of Illusion,” which follows a more relaxed path. At first the rhythm section holds down a slow burning, steady groove and then the track continues to breathe and expand before the majority of the instrumentation fades, revealing effects- laden guitar swirling in ambient bliss.
White Manna is at their best when they lock into deep, heavy riffs eventually blasting off into strange, unexplored regions of outer space. While Dune Worship doesn’t stray much from the ideas found on their debut, the journey is just as heavy, wild and heady. For White Manna, it’s more about the trip than the destination.
This review also appeared in the print edition of Savage Henry, a Northern California arts and culture magazine.