Hella: Yubacore

"Yubacore" could very well be my favorite track off of Hella's upcoming album, Tripper, which is as apt a title as one could pin on their own album.  It flirts with a somewhat standard percussive stride (standard for Hella, anyway) and then launches into some shuffling, howling strangeness.  As a summary of the band's overall creative approach and the skill they utilize throughout Tripper, "Yubacore" offers reliable testimony.   This is one to look forward to.

The album will be reviewed for No Ripcord.  All info is courtesy of US/THEM Group.

Hella premiere new song via Pitchfork; new album Tripper out August 30th


Legendary experimentalist duo Hella premiere a new song today via Pitchfork called "Yubacore". Check it out HERE. The track is culled from Tripper, their forthcoming fifth album, due out August 30th, 2011 on Sargent House.

Hella has long been celebrated for bringing a rigorous and artful musical complexity to the punk aesthetic. Now, after a four year hiatus, the legendary Sacramento duo founded in 2001 by drummer Zach Hill and guitarist Spencer Seim has returned with their fifth album, Tripper. As the title suggests, it's a wild ride that finds Hella in classic frenetic anthemic form.

The sonic experimentalists have stripped the band lineup back down to the original 2-piece, returning to the streamlined aggression of their earlier work while expanding the barriers of their sound. Tripper is Hella's most "focused" album to date -- and, by focused, we mean in a kaleidoscopic way. While each of the multiple riffs and movements of every song have a clearly defined mood and feel, the way that Hill and Seim breeze between time signatures and parts is like watching the scenery unfold within a kaleidoscope. It's entrancing in its beauty and beguiling in its complexity.

Hella's previous album, There's No 666 In Outer Space (Ipecac Recordings) saw the band expanded to a 5-piece, with lead vocals, bass and two guitars. But, it's the well defined space in-between the duo's impenetrable foundation of drums and guitar that Hella revisits on Tripper with a vigor. Seim's guitar sounds like a one man orchestra of six-string flagellation while Hill's eminently esoteric playing style and innovative collection of repurposed drum equipment redefines the pair's ground-shaking impact.

Hella formed in 2001 when teenage friends Seim and Hill abandoned a previous full band project to start anew. Their name was derived from Bay Area slang meaning "really", "excessively" or more literally, "hell of." Quite fittingly, the duo proved to be "hella" talented and innovative. Early albums and EPs on Kill Rock Stars offshoot 5 Rue Christine and Suicide Squeeze, as well as incessant touring saw the band develop a massive following in underground DIY circles for their incendiary live shows. After later experiments with an expanded lineup, Hella took a break from recording and performing to focus on myriad other projects before reconvening in 2011.

Tripper will be available everywhere on CD, LP and Digital Download on August 30th, 2011 via Sargent House.



Artist: Hella
Album: Tripper
Label: Sargent House
Release Date: August 30th, 2011

01. Headless (MP3)
02. Self Checkout
03. Long Hair
04. Yubacore (MP3)
05. Netgear
06. Kid Life Crisis
07. On The Record
08. Furthest
09. Psycho Bro
10. Osaka

On the Web:
hellaband.tumblr.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Hella/293833307223

Sincerely,
Letters From A Tapehead 

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