Release Date: August 30, 2011
There’s a fine line between progressive-rock noodling and post-rock instrumental flights of fancy, and Hella do a hellacious job of walking that line. At times, it’s hard to know if one is listening to King Crimson or Jane’s Addiction, especially given there are no vocals to be found in the Hella-toire.
Is this record called Tripper because they are going on a trip, or are they tripping the light fantastic and tripping over their own feats? There are enough starts, stops, and jarring tempo changes to justify the impression that the latter is the intent.
On Tripper, Hella find themselves at the junction of busy math-rock a la Battles or Polvo and classic-rock jammingness of Led Zeppelin or Phish. But if this is truly part of the math-rock tradition, perhaps intersection or some other geometric term would be more fitting. Alternately, if the “balls to the wall” rocking here means they want to align themselves with the jammingness of their prog-rock/dusty forebears (unlikely, but then again, bell-bottom blue jeans are making a comeback), maybe crossroads would be a better phrase to use.
Although there is a Battles comparison to be made, Holy Fuck comes to mind as well (on a number of levels). That phrase is especially fitting when one learns that Hella is a duo on Tripper — their fifth record overall but their first since 2007. Spencer Seim (guitar) and Zach Hill (drums) have been playing together for more than 10 years, since they were in high school, and it shows in the their tightness and in what a well oiled machine they are.
Although they don’t have the lingering melodies and subtle atmospherics of Japandroids, that duo also provides a useful reference point.
The record begins in media res with “Headless,” as if to point out that there is no beginning and no end to this music. On “Osaka” their freneticism bubbles along in such a way that the listener can almost feel blisters forming on their fingers. It almost sounds like an early Metallica instrumental (if a bit jazzier) before it mercifully fades away, midcontemplation. With “On The Record,” fears that Hella might groove themselves off the record seem legitimate, as the racing, start-stop action jars head-banging necks like a roller coaster designed by a sadist. In contrast, “Furthest” sounds as though it could be the opening salvo in a Southern roots-rock revival combo like Ponderosa, but it quickly whirls apart like some kind of Fatboy Slim remix of a Creedence Clearwater jam. “Psycho Bro” rocks — rocks hard and rocks repeatedly. If early 1990s instrumental guitar stylists Pell Mell provided the world with rhyming guitars, these boys are giving listeners speed-rapping guitars (or at least one very busy guitar).
Today, more than 10 years into the 21st century, it’s a legitimate question to ask whether anything new can be done with guitar and drums. Maybe and maybe not. But regardless, until the answer to that question can be found, there’s some good rockin’ to be had on Tripper. And given that the digital download is available via their label for less than eight bucks, this might be the first best-music-deal of the fall. For those who like their rock sans vocals, complicated, fast and loud, they can’t go wrong, and repeated listens are rewarded. However,the right mood is recommended — this is definitely not music to go to sleep to. This is music to wake up to, and one can’t help but be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with this jolt of electric energy.
Hella — Tripper Tracklist:
- “Headless”
- “Self Checkout”
- “Long Hair”
- “Yubacore”
- “Netgear”
- “Kid Life Crisis”
- “On The Record”
- “Furthest”
- “Psycho Bro”
- “Osaka”
