Does it make perfect sense that the forthcoming release from Gnod and White Hills would be hard to classify? If you’ve ever encountered either outfit on their own even in passing, never mind their prior collaborative output, probably. The kraut-worshiping psych heads share an affinity for digging into the outer expanses of ‘far out, man,’ and as the title Drop Out III implies, they’ve gone down this road together twice before.

But of course the story is more complicated than just that. Drop Out III expands on previous joint efforts and features material recorded around the time of their initial offering, as well as tracks from each band separately. Is it a split? A collaboration? A reissue? A new album? A little bit of all of them, it seems like.

A nine-minute sampling is available in the form of lead single “Run-A-Round,” and as the PR wire notes, the two entities will share the stage for a special thus-far-one-off at Roadburn 2025 in the Netherlands next April.

Art, info and audio follows:

Gnod & White Hills announce the next release in their legendary, ongoing collaborative series, Drop Out III, Due out Mar. 21st, 2025

Preorder Gnod & White Hills’ Drop Out III: https://thrilljockey.com/products/drop-out-iii

Gnod & White Hills set to perform a Drop Out collaborative set for the first time ever at Roadburn Festival 2025

The legendary team-up of masters of psych rock Gnod & White Hills have announced the next release in their lauded ongoing collaborative series Drop Out. As titans of the exploratory rock community, their alchemical chemistry gave rise to the ongoing work that is Drop Out, originally conceived and assembled in the late 2000s from across the Atlantic Ocean which was later iterated by the more widely released Drop Out II. This new edition, Drop Out III, further expounds on the lysergic glory of previous versions with new arrangements, mixes, bonus tracks, and songs assembled as they were initially intended. Drop Out III will be released on double LP March 21st, 2025 with a full album of downloadable bonus material. Gnod & White Hills will be performing a collaborative set including material from Drop Out for the first time ever at Roadburn Festival 2025.

Along with the album’s announcement, Gnod & White Hills have shared the new expanded version of “Run-A-Round,” a loping cosmic excursion with cascading melodies that unfurl into one another, showcasing their fresh take on the track while retaining it’s intoxicating potency.

Drop Out III stands as a wholly new iteration of Gnod & White Hills’ initial collaboration. Reaching well beyond a mere reissue, Drop Out III is replete with sounds recorded in what the bands term the “Drop Out era” that have never been heard before. The double LP’s first two sides feature instrumentation and arrangements originally recorded but not included on previous releases. Embodying the two bands’ inquisitive natures, the already hypnotic flow of the songs take on new character, their timbres shifted and color palettes swirled in deft mixes. Classics like the single “Run-A-Round” and the eponymous “Drop Out” maintain their motorik drive and fizzing melodies, yet capture a new spirit. The latter two sides feature pieces never before included on vinyl, including the beautifully serene “Air Streams” in its original droning arc, previously broken bisected into separate tracks with completely different arrangements. In addition to those intoxicating pieces that will sound familiar and reinvigorated to fans, the album comes with a full album’s worth of bonus material, all crafted around the Drop Out era. White Hills’ “Decorating Time” (later repurposed into “Undressing Time”) showcases the depth of the band’s subtlety, rich with minute turns and a twist of psychedelic ambience. “Nothing NEU! Under the Sky” captures the invigorating pulse and dynamics of Gnod’s live performances.

Drop Out III’s new elements make clear the unified ethos of both bands. The expanded versions of these timeless pieces epitomize the sense of possibility brimming throughout the album. That an album over 15 years out from its inception could continue to grow well past its roots is a testament to Gnod & White Hills’ ability as artists and collaborators.

Drop Out III tracklist

LP 1:
1. Drop Out *
2. Run-A-Round *
3. Wellhang *
4. Spaced Man *

LP 2:
5. Elka *
6. Undressing Time ^
7. Air Streams ^
8. Unify ^

LP3 – digital only:
1. Per Sempre *
2. Decorating Time ~
3. Changesaw +
4. Model Citizen ~
5. Nothing Neu! Under The Sky +
6. Hole In My Eye ~
7. Ovid’s Poem ~

* New expanded version
% Never appeared on vinyl previously
^ Never previously released
~ White Hills track recorded around DO
+ Gnod track recorded around DO

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http://www.whitehillsband.com
http://www.facebook.com/WHITEHILLSBand
http://www.instagram.com/whitehillsmusic
http://whitehills.bandcamp.com/music

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Gnod & White Hills, Drop Out III (2025)