REVIEW: hubris. - White Shores

Having explored Greek mythology through experimental instrumental post-rock melodies, Swiss quartet HUBRIS. have turned their attention to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s unrivalled, visionary series The Lord of the Rings, a legendary story that has been the benchmark for creators and dreamers for over 70 years and has been a deep-rooted inspiration for HUBRIS.’ composer and founder Jonathan Hohl. Inspired by the epic series and the real life loss of his grandfather, Hohl translates his grief and the deeper understanding of death into new album White Shores, the stirring emotion evident without a word spoken. 

Whilst paying homage to the immense world of Middle-Earth and the quest of the Fellowship that shows even the smallest and unassuming of us can change the course of history, HUBRIS. narrow in on the underlying themes of morality and immortality that runs throughout the series and drives the narrative to its conclusion. The album and track titles are direct quotes from the eccentric yet wise Gandalf as he is in the thick of war and facing the end of everything at the siege of Minas Tirith, but rather than lament on the end of times he treats death as something to be accepted, an inevitability that shouldn’t be feared but instead embraced as the journey to the afterlife takes you to “white shores, a far green country under a swift sunrise”.

HUBRIS. take inspiration from this gentle approach and from the immortal elves who covet death and paradoxically call it “the Gift of Men”, blending soaring instrumentals with post-rock riffs and spectacular beats that sonically elevate each track into a cinematic masterpiece that makes you reflect whilst also feeling like you’re the main character on your own quest, almost contradictory in how it makes you feel alive while its themes are centred around death.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfntIDJcv-s

White Shores doesn’t act as a play-by-play soundtrack to the LotR, but there are certain elements that can be matched to the films’ scores and immerse you back into Tolkien’s world, from the opening of death and its dreamlike guitar that reverbs into shimmering cymbals, the melody building piece by piece, note by note, into a sound bordering triumph or acceptance and feeling like the beginning of something new, blasting drums and chords suddenly exploding back in to accompany a dramatic solo before it all fades into muffled synths and plinky notes. death has already taken us on that final journey with its ending representing the approaching shorelines and a final peace. 

Immediately fading into is, the rhythm continues its ethereal quality as if we were travelling through a modern Rivendell or to the final resting place of Valinor (the Undying Lands), rising and falling in pitch to a subtle beat that flows alongside the hopeful synths, heavy riffs and beats crashing in under wavering notes that layer together until it begins to sound like a heavenly choir. just’s intro of juddering drums and melancholy guitar initially sounds as if the track will take a more menacing approach, but as it climbs in power and range it treads the line between feeling like the pivotal moment in a quest where you have to make a difficult choice and leave the past behind, and sonically coming close to John Murphy’s In The House In A Heartbeat (from horror film 28 Days Later) in its theatrically astonishing combination of classic composition and modern rock, the final notes feeling like a nod to the beginning notes of Howard Shore’s The Breaking Of The Fellowship from The Fellowship of the Ring.

another takes on a different look as it continues the journey through the ether, a repeated riff echoing throughout the track as it shifts into more industrial elements of sound and beats, stripping away the peaceful acceptance of death and becoming more of an internal outlet for the person grieving, its lonely strings open to interpretation of everything continuing as normal while the instruments build into an emotional crescendo that demands to be heard and felt, or the aching feeling of grief when it’s so overwhelming you can’t stay hopeful and have to go through this bout of sadness.

path I begins with a downplayed snare beat and guitar that gradually rises into powerfully driving bass until it reaches a peak of layered post-rock and cinematic sounds, the beginning of a new day and the understanding that this too shall pass, that grief is love and memory enduring and to celebrate that we should even have those memories to cherish. Similar in style yet differing in sentiment, path II brings our journey to its end on the promised White Shores with a composition that reaches new heights with sweeping riffs and scales, a rising guitar in the background, bass rumbling through at the bedrock of the track, and a beat that progressively climbs to an abrupt drop, fading out to a simplified version of the riff as we embrace the closure that death is just a part of life but it doesn’t mean the end for us still living. “The journey doesn’t end here; death is just another path, one that we all must take.”

Score: 8/10

White Stores will be released on 10th September 2026.

Words: Julia Stark

Photos: hubris.