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Mar 18, 2025 By Issa Nasatir

1990s shoegaze outfit Chapterhouse are releasing a four-track EP titled, White House Demos, which collects their first-ever recordings from 1989. The EPs first single is the previously unreleased song “See That Girl.” White House Demos is due out May 9 via Sonic Cathedral. See the video for “See That Girl” and the album artwork below.

Out of the four tracks, “See That Girl” is the only song that is previously unreleased. The other three consist of “Ecstasy,” a song found on various versions of Chapterhouse compilations over the years; “Guilt,” a song found on their 1991 debut Whirlpool; and “Die Die Die,” also found as a part of Whirlpool but as a bonus 12-inch. The tracks were produced at White House Studio in Weston-super-Mare in January 1989, when the band had only played four gigs together.

“They were the first songs we wrote as a band,” says singer and guitarist Stephen Patman in a press release. “At the time our live set consisted of Stooges and ’60s garage-psych cover versions which we mixed with these original songs.”

“See That Girl” is a driving track, occupying the space between the ’80s rock that preceded it and the shoegaze it would inspire. The video for “See That Girl” is made by Innerstrings (aka Chris Tomsett) showcasing psychedelic filters over urban settings.

“Soon after these tracks were recorded things started moving very quickly for us. We started touring and writing more songs, so ‘See That Girl’ just didn’t seem that relevant to us anymore,” explains Patman. “We probably felt that it was a bit too simplistic and juvenile. In retrospect, it contains an innocent charm and reveals our deep love for psychedelia.”

In 2022 Chapterhouse released the career-spanning box set Chronology (read our review here). The White House Demos tracks weren’t included on that because they were forgotten. But then Slowdive guitarist Christian Savill reminded Patman about the session. They worked together at a day job when the demos were recorded.

“When the boxset was released, Christian got in touch and reminded me of these demos and how much he loved them,” explains Patman. “He was probably the first person I gave a cassette copy to. He still rehearses and records at The White House and was going in for a session the following week, so I asked if he could ask the owner/engineer Martin Nichols to check if he still had them in his archive. Thankfully he did—he’s a very meticulous man—so I asked him to capture them for me and I remastered the tracks from what were surprisingly good sounding recordings.

“I only have very vague memories of the session, but I remember that all the tracks were recorded completely live, together as a band. There were maybe a couple of overdubs for tambourines and some drones and feedback. It was all done in a day.”

Patman adds: “It is interesting to hear how much ‘teen spirit’ is on these recordings. They’re probably the closest to how we sounded live at that time. It was also the first and last recording session we had with our original bass player, Jon Curtis, who contributed a great deal to that energy.”