Bleep

Reading shoegaze trailblazers Chapterhouse take a look back on their storied history with this new demos compilation out on the Sonic Cathedral label. Cut in 1989 at the White House studio in Weston-super-Mare, these tracks betray the technical skill and confidence of a band far beyond their years (in fact they had but 4 gigs under their belt at the time, most of which entailed Stooges covers).

Long since forgotten by the quintet, these recordings were saved from the bin by fellow pedal stomper Christian Savill of Slowdive, who recalled their brilliance from a lunch break spent together before both groups broke out. Demo is almost something of a misnomer here, as the steaming kettle guitars and enormous drum fills on tracks like ‘Guilt’ sound nearly as luxurious as the beloved full lengths that followed. While the sampling and rhythmic experimentalism was still to come, these White House Demos prove Chapterhouse’s intoxicating guitar interplay was intact from the jump.