Pneu - Highway to Health (2011)

Frantic, crazy, heavy chaos with some serious riffs, Pneu is 2 dudes from France who can play the shit out of their instruments. Really glad they had this album done by Kurt Ballou who just turns everything to gold. Really heavy gold.  A French hardcore/punk version of Hella, they are by far a worthy listen.

BNDCMP

HTH

Feuding Fathers

3 piece out of Austin, TX, I think they are friends with Boyfrndz. Sounds like Hella, Zach Hill, bygones, you get the idea. Vocals are just kinda there, drums are EVERYWHERE. There's 2 EPs on their bandcamp, this one has a bit better production value.

Hella

  2 piece intricate math-rock

Updation: Tripper (2011)
A long awaited return to form for the group now stripped of their full band format. The guitar's are actually darker than previous releases and rely more on Hill's drums for technical support. Structure wise I wish I could say that its just as crazy as earlier releases but time away must have calmed their restless nature. It's actually a welcome progression for the group even though I really loved Spencer's take on that video game guitar sound. Very interested to know other peoples take on this.

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What do you get when you take two gentlemen that have been playing together since high school and add an enormous amount of technical skill? Well it appears you end up with Sacramento Cal. own Hella. Their sound is always a furious attack of off time video game inspired mayhem. Anyone who is even remotely familiar with the genre knows that these gentlemen are at the top of the pack.While there are groups that try and crib their sound, they are singular in composition and skill. Past incarnations of Hella has swelled their numbers but they are almost always better stripped to core members Spencer Seim and Zach Hill. Hill's drumming is almost talked about more than the actual group and even a focus of division among some. There is nothing standard about his playing style. Seemingly an almost disregard for any traditional 4/4 beat structure and even if payed close enough attention plays out of time with Spencer's guitar in select places. Listen and Enjoy.

Hold Your Horse Is

Bygones - by- (2009)

Both Nick Reinhart  (guitarist of Tera Melos) and Zach Hill (drummer of Hella) are at the top of the mathy heap when it comes to their respective instruments. It was really only natural when the two decided to start playing together and we are graced with this excellent release. What is refreshing is that both musicians have adapted to each others playing style in such a way that brings out the best in both players. Zach's detractors have always pointed out "pointless and endless" fills but with Bygones he really reigns it in nicely while style managing a chaotic and inventive presence on the kit. Nick plays with a very riff based style which actually turned out to be an evolution of his style and carried over directly to Tera Melos's newest release Patagonian Rats. Its a great album with lots of chemistry between the two players.  The pop vocalizing makes some of the more labyrinthine passages more palatable and just adds a great element in its own right.

By (2009)

O Lucky Man! - When I Was Young I Would Type Your Name Just to See It in Front of Me

 

 DUN DUN DUUUUUN! more math rock! these guys I believe are on hiatus at the moment. That does not change the fact that they are a very talented two piece. There are no looping pedals or extra blah blah on this one folks.  The drummer plays both drums and keyboard simultaneously which with the kind of skill he has is more than doable. What I find to be extremely interesting about O Lucky Man!  is there ability to transition from Hella style riffery to an almost straight indie rock approach. Again just one of those things that sounds odd on paper but does well in practice. Its deff. one of the more singular sounds in the genre so not to be missed out. Another nice aspect is the vocals which while lyrically could stand to be a bit better but do add to the structure of the pieces. Dont be thrown off by the album cover either there were no children harmed in the release (80% sure)

Click arrows on the Right for downloads when Iwas young I would type your name just to see it in front of me.