Zach Hill – Astrological Straits

This entry was posted by owl and bear staff on Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 at 5:04 am.

For a second, Hella drummer Zach Hill’s album Astrological Straits almost sounds like Pink Floyd.

Then that second is gone and the listener is embroiled in the dense and schizophrenic-percussive opening track “Iambic Strays.”

A lot of the disc follows the same M.O.–that is, Mr. Hill showcasing his formidable drumming, along with also-percussive accompaniment that provides whatever melody there might be. In “Dark Art,” guitar is thrown in to give the song a more rocking quality (which is good).

Hill’s roots in noise and math rock are apparent, but Astrological Straits is actually pretty accessible. His vocals are interesting and the album never comes close to being repetitive. Such a sideways approach to music should be refreshing to anyone tired of the formulaic and same-sounding stuff that saturates even the Indie airwaves these days.

B+