Customer Reviews

Church Gone Wild / Chirpin Hard (Dig)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I thoroughly enjoy Chirpin Hard. It's definitely amazing; it combines all of Hella's LP and EP styles into one album. Church Gone Wild is a different story. It's really hard to get into this record; I'm not sure if it's the vocals or the arrangements. It's just a little too tedious for my tastes at times. Zach Hill should've made this cd a little more accessible. I understand the 'not sacrificing any artistic vision' idea, but I would've liked to hear some more of his amazing drumming that isn't drowned out by constant effects and vocals.
Try Hold Your Horse Is before this one.

Hella do an OutKast style concept on this release, having each member do his own full-length CD of music. Un-like OutKast featuring each other on their solo projects, Zach and Spencer separately play each and every instrument on their own creations.

With Spencer's Chirpin Hard, this concept reveals what an amazing musician and composer he is, even showing Zach up on the drums with tracks like the amazing dream space rockin' of, "Try Dis..." In Zach's Church Gone Wild CD, we find out that Zach really is from another f*!%ing planet! This epic hour long drone of noise and tripped out vocals sounds a lot like stuff off of Zach's true solo release, Zach Hill & The Holy Smokes. These albums put into black & white the two extremes that Spencer and Zach pull from to create what is Hella.

Together, these two opposite sounds of "listenable" poppy Nintendo space rock and "unlistenable" UFO noise explosions from outer space come together to make up the amazingly complex and yet somehow enjoyably "listenable," HELLA. More than an album of music, this is an album of personalities.

I wonder what would happen if you played these two CDs together at the same time, like some Flaming Lips Zaireeka action... Maybe then you'd get your beloved "Hold Your Horse Is" again. Let the music evolve!

is bY far the best. The track on Hill's side with the choir is pretty nice. But Spencer takes the cake. It's unanimous in my mind.

chirpin hard is definately the golden egg of the two. after listening to chirpin, hold your horse is, and the rest of their catalouge i can say without doubt that chirpin hard is hella's greatest release yet. though it is not representative of hella as live performers, the album is incredibly fresh, heavy, abstract, avant garde, furious, and droning all in the same disc, making it their most rewarding, eccentric, and approachable album. each track hones a new theme, keeping you entertained and NEVER bored, and the pacing is fast. i find that chirpin stimulates my creativity, and it has helped me write papers and make art among other things. THIS DISC ALONE IS WORTH THE MEASLY PRICE OF 16 OR WHATEVER DOLLARS and it is a good choice if you enjoy hold your horse is for its "listenability" (and i promise, this is as easy and accessable as hella is going to get.) my favorite tracks include song from uncle, trap kit whatever, and the "single" try dis, which has an equally hellacool music video.

church gone wild is the demented, non-sensical brother to chirpin. to listen to this album you need a really open mind and a thirst for chaotic art music. church gone wild is remnicent of the wild, scattered noise played once by naked city, combined with several tabs of acid. this album will definatlely help you paint a mural with feces and run naked through your predominantely white, christian, suburban neighborhood.

in summation, hella is NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. you either get it or you dont, and if you dont, then you shoudlnt feel obligated to leave a 2star rating because you feel cheated. chirpin hard alone is a masterpiece and it justifies buying both discs. it is the BEST music released under the name HELLA so far. these discs will melt your face and fry your brain. dont forget to bring a towel.

I was lucky enough to see Hella in concert last night, and I decided to purchase the new album, since it was only $12. Overall, I am slightly dissapointed. As the previous review said, this is a far ways away from "Hold Your Horse Is". I figured that the guys would be slightly more loose live, i.e., less crisp and kind of sloppy. However, after listening to the new album, particularly "Church Gone Wild", I determined that this is the sound that the guys are going for. Looking back, I suppose the boys are pretty tight...in any event, purchase this album if you are more in the Lightening Bolt/early Don Cab school of math rock, not the Dianogah/Volta Do Mar persuasion. In the end, I think if you aren't yet privy to experimental noise rock, or whatever the expert above says, you will be after a few listens (whether that appreciation is forced or not). Final note: check out Air Guitar Magazine; they opened up for Hella, they are pretty sweet.

The Chirpin Hard video game style music earns 1 star. Otherwise, think of this as a completely different band from the first album they did. Waste of time.