"I first heard this song [Chill and Natural] while working on the 1989 survey and was listening to Madonna’s “Express Yourself” and Nine Inch Nails’ “Head Like A Hole” all the time, and I immediately recognized it as a cousin to those songs. A lot of that resemblance is in the aggressive, confident tone of the music, and the way the intensity of the sound seems to escalate on a constant 60 degree angle. But where those songs come from a place of incredibly certainty, Dienel’s singing about being driven crazy by straight men’s inconsistent yet inflexible expectations for women and their bodies...The humor and anger in this song is balanced just right, and it perfectly captures that feeling when you’re so impatient and confused that you think you’re losing your mind, but you know it’s not your fault." - Matthew Perputua, Fluxblog
Published October 5, 2015
"This song blew my face off when it was premiered on Stereogum yesterday for a few different reasons. It’s a radical reinvention for Casey Dienel, last heard making amorphous and beguiling R&B on last year’s full-length Baby; it’s also an evisceration of the male fascination with "the cool girl," that mythical figure who’ll crush a six-pack and watch hours of Sunday football while also retaining some kind of resplendent femininity. Listen to Dienel, summoning Björk and Trent Reznor in equal measure: "All around the pretty hotels of America / Good girls are shaving themselves for marriage." This sounds like a victory." -Jamieson Cox, The Verge
Published Oct. 2, 2015.
Written and produced by White Hinterland
"...she’s back with a new single called “Chill And Natural,” the first release on her new label Ursula. It’s a surging, aggressive dance-pop track that strikes me sonically as what Katy Perry’s next record might sound like if she signed to DFA. Thematically it tackles the impossible expectations men put on women." - Chris Deville, Stereogum
Published October 1, 2015
White Hinterland recently contributed a score to this film by Derrick Belcham with choreography by Lily Ockwell. Happy Thursday!
Directed by DERRICK BELCHAM
Cinematography by DERRICK BELCHAM
Choreography by LILY OCKWELL
Shot & Edited by DERRICK BELCHAM
Music by CASEY DIENEL (WHITE HINTERLAND)
This film was made possible by a generous donation by Karen Wyder
"Casey Dienel is a producer, singer, and songwriter who goes by the name White Hinterland. In this episode, she’ll break down her song Ring the Bell. To make it, she had to break out of her comfort zone of working alone and reach to other people. She got a little unexpected help from Beyoncé." - Hrishikesh Hirway, Song Exploder
Published April 2015.
Song Exploder is a podcast where musicians take apart their songs, and piece by piece, tell the story of how they were made.
"In the White Hinterland rework of San Fermin’s “Jackrabbit,” Dienel turns a brawny, stomping track into a spaced-out shoegazing dance piece while maintaining the song’s melodic anchor. San Fermin’s treatment of White Hinterland’s “Ring the Bell” is as equally smooth, resulting in a cut that manages to adjust the color without undoing its original navigation." - Blain Skrainka, The Wild Magazine
Published April 13, 2015