I’ve heard a lot about HELLA without actually hearing them prior to their latest EP, Acoustics. In 2005, the guitar and drum duo released a double-album called Church Gone Wild, Chirpin’ Hard that was highly touted by many of the indie scene’s elite. Acoustics is the follow-up to that much-talked about record, although the material on it isn’t completely new. Comprised of six tracks in all, half come from their 2004 album The Devil Isn’t Red while the other half comes from the 2002 disc Hold Your Horse Is. However, the tracks have been re-recorded acoustically, offering an EP that is borderline insane. As a newcomer to HELLA, the first thing that popped out after one listen is that the music on Acoustics sounds chaotic and overtly soothing at the same time. After the initial jaunt of “1-800-Ghost Dance,” the music here becomes lulling in a very odd way. There are no vocals to be heard on this disc; therefore the schizophrenic nature of the band’s songs become rather peaceful with the absence of any voices. While there’s not much variance in the songs after a casual listen, a closer listen ensures that there’s plenty of technical riffing and drumming going on behind the scenes. Aside from the general nature of the songs here, there’s not much more that can be said about Acoustics. While I do think that it would be better to first hear HELLA electrically as a newcomer, there’s no doubting that there’s something supremely original going on inside the duo’s collective minds. -Side Note: Props to the band for creating one of the single-most repulsive cover photos out of a mere chocolate bunny.

5RC

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