Premiere: Chll Pll, “Pass Out” MP3
- story Matthew Schnipper
UPDATE: Just kidding, that song was actually “Now Then and When.” It’s a jam, so get the record. Check out the real “Pass Out.” It sounds like a regular band got trapped in a Lisa Frank commercial.
Download: Chll Pll, “Pass Out”
“Pass Out” is what we cannot believe drummer Zach Hill does not do halfway through every show he plays. We cannot imagine him performing this seven-minute (!) song live—clearly this has to have been taped together. Right? Right? Chll Pll, his new duo whose ridiculously titled debut Aggressively Humble (better hope your parents aren’t psychologists), is a vehicle for Hill to basically blast himself to the moon. It sounds sort of like “Here Comes the Indian” with blast beats, until its supple, wavy keys are pounded into submission with a snare. A friend told us he fell asleep listening to Brian Eno the other night and had good dreams. Though we know that wasn’t Zach Hill, it very well could have been, the arc of this song moving steadily from REM to zen whenever he moves from drum ping to butterfly winging the cymbals.
Video: Wavves Live at Santos Party House
- story Sam Hockley-Smith
One of the best things about the Wavves live show has always been watching Nathan Williams stumble through live versions of his music with the same I-don’t-give-a-fuck-but-actually-secretly-do-or-else-you-wouldn’t-be-listening-to-this attitude that exists in the margins of his recorded work. When he announced that technical drum beast Zach Hill would officially be a part of the band and then followed that up with a six(!) minute single, it seemed like Wavves was going to get real complicated real fast. Maybe that’ll be the case at some point in the future, but watching the pair slam their way through their set on Thursday night at Santos Party House was about balance. Hill bulldozed Williams’ earlier work, but the newer material is clearly something they’ve worked on together. Professional concert-goer/filmer Ray Concepcion, was, of course, on hand to capture the whole event. We saw him in the middle of the pit shaking his camera around like he was simulating the world’s largest earthquake. You’ll probably catch that in one of the three videos he filmed from the show. It’ll be just like you were there.
Chll Pll, “Dick Moves” MP3
- story Matthew Schnipper
Yesterday a CD came in the mail with blood red lava spit from the earth like a wave on the cover. Embossed in huge silver font is “ten rips by chll pll.” We were happy to find that the ten rips was just a claim, like “taste great, less filling,” and that the actual album was entitled the equally awesome Aggressively Humble, which would totally not be an apt way to describe how Chll Pll drummer Zach Hill (formerly still of Hella and currently of Wavves) completely demolishes sound waves on “Dick Moves.” At least until it turns into a new age track. Then he plays the cymbals really fast after that, which is cool. Also lyrics to this song are totally here today/ bone tomorrow. Here’s to a fruitful Labor Day weekend!
Download: Chll Pll, “Dick Moves”
Wavves, “Cool Jumper” MP3
- story Sam Hockley-Smith
- photo Justin Maxon (F62)
Of course we are into this! Nathan Williams bka Wavves has been in the mag twice and writes a video game column called Sweaty Hands for this very site. Here he’s joined by Zach Hill, apparently a permanent edition to the one man band, and Williams goes fully nuts, utilizing all the stuff we love about his music: grungy guitars and that repeated falsetto wooOOOhhhhh to better effect than most of the other stuff he’s recorded to date. A dude in the office (who will remain nameless) just started clutching his face and went on a rant about how good this is, and we agree—minus the face-clutching. On the first several listens, it sounds like a pretty big step forward for Wavves. Also, this is website, we are just relying on pure feeling, people!
Download: Wavves, “Cool Jumper”
Video/Freeload: Zach Hill, “Dark Art”
- story THE FADER
On the 4th of July we totally expected loudspeaker crescendos and many layers of cymbal clashes and some oohs and ahh’s, but all we got were those pitiful little yellow “pfffft” things that climb halfway into the sky and then drop back down. Lame! We were left wondering, Where are we going to get our crashing explosions?!?! And here on this cosmically momentous day of 8-8-08, our wondering ends because this new track off Zach Hill’s (of Hella) solo album has all of the aforementioned good stuff. Even the vocals have a scratchy quality like sparks are shooting from the corners of his mouth. As a bonus, we have the video for “Dark Art” which features a gothy dude running and nothing else.
Download: Zach Hill, “Dark Art”
