S044 - Hella "Church Gone Wild /Chirpin Hard"
US: Double CD $16
CANADA/INTL: Double CD $18

The magic of HELLA grows more mystifying and thrilling on thisÊsplit personality offering. Hill's "Church Gone Wild" delivers a dark and menacing onslaught of aggression and guts (and vocals!), while Seim's "Chirpin Hard" brings out a lighthearted but wholly technical and equally impressive spattering of pop and punk melded in the hot pot of the computer and video gameÊage.

FR019 - Tough Guy Fantasy "Thank Gods It's Friday / Arctic Boys "Louisiana Purchase"
US: Double CD $16
CANADA/INTL: Double CD $18

Two bands, same members, different music. Described to me as a meeting of the minds between a space age Amon Dull, the Ruins, the Boredoms and Hella. Zach Hill told me that this was his craziest and most ambitious project to date and he was right. This thing is insane. A true behemoth. The first disc, Toughguy Fantasy, is relentless. Zach, Carson and Justin let loose. They have imagined some kind of otherworldly journey and put it to tape. There is barely a moment to breath. The second disc is the opposite of the same coin. Not a repeat of Toughguy Fantasy, but a reworking of the same formula blended into a quieter almost mid-eastern piece. I was told that the drum sounds were recorded by Zach by pounding away on the comforter on his bed. There are other instruments thrown in as well, piano, ash trays, and anything else they can get their hands on. Put these two discs together and it is definitely a journey your not soon to forget. Kind of like a Rubiks cube. Frustrating to some, challenging and addicting to others. But I don't think this puzzle can be solved.

Band includes Zach from Hella

GER027 - Hella "The Devil Isn't Red" (5 Rue Christine CD/Suicide Squeeze LP)
US: CD $14, LP $14
CANADA/INTL: CD $16, LP $16

Chemistry is the foundation behind every great duo. Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra, Pink and Brown, Ferrante and Teicher, Romulus and Remus, Quasi, Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin? These duos are beloved because each member pushed the other to new heights and complimented the others vision perfectly. Or, as in the case of Romulus and Remus, murdered one another. Guitarist Spencer Seim and drummer Zach Hill, better known as instrumental rock twosome Hella, have the talent to corral this dangerous and volatile creative chemistry. Their new 5RC release, The Devil Isnt Red, is the surest step yet by this still emerging duo.

NCK7006 - Hella "Total Bugs Bunny On Wild Bass" (Narnack Records)
US: CDEP $8
CANADA/INTL: CDEP $10

Psychotic West Coast duo gets extra naughty. Dark departure from "normal" Hella sound. Spencer programming?!? Zach busting his knuckles to time signatures only Ringo could master. Previously unreleased seven-song enhanced CD (includes live footage of the epic "Brown Metal" from Sacramento, CA Capitol Garage).

SRR016 - Hella/Dilute Split Live Double CD (Sickroom Records)
US: (2x)CD $16
CANADA/INTL: (2x)CD $18

The latest in Sick Room's live series features two of the underground's most exciting new combos. Sacramento, California's HELLA continue to blow heads right off with their vicious spazzcore pummel, while Oakland's DILUTE unleash some fiery soundscapes rocked with sparse vocals, tight rhythms, and a tapestry of guitar.

FR012/GER018 - Hella "Hold Your Horse Is" (Frenetic Records/5 Rue Christine)
US: CD $12, LP $10
CANADA/INTL: CD $14, LP $12

Hella is a band that will make you think, "How many people are in this band?". The answer is "two". I don't know how they do it. It is amazing to think about and even more amazing to see them play. All that sound from two people -- it is certainly perplexing. I love hella.

"Well now, this record is certainly a breath of fresh air... Hella is two Sacramento guys on guitar and drums and they've made this loud 'n awesome record, which is super listenable and accessible...While the guitarwork is manic and soaring and epic (akin to Don Cab or Storm & Stress), the drumming is even more insane! It's complicated and full of energy; there are quick stops and it's almost all hectic drum fills, one lightning speed kick drum attack after another, and another. Hella is the smart math radness of the (Fucking) Champs without the metal. Really cool. Highly recommended!"-- Aquarius Records

*Ex-Crime in Choir * Recorded @ toast studios by Aaron Prellwitz (Bratmobile, Crime in Choir, the Donnas)

S026 - Hella "Bitches Aint Shit But Good People" (Suicide Squeeze Records)
US: 12inch EP, CD EP $10
CANADA/INTL: 12inch EP, CD EP $12

Experimental noise rock heroes HELLA follow in a long tradition (from CAPTAIN BEEFHEART to DON CABALLERO to TRANS AM to LIGHTNING BOLT) of music-making madness with their two-piece rock. Four new tracks of blurring proficiency that will make you swear these two men are secretly hiding an army of guitars and drum lines behind the curtain! This new 12"-ep features the first appearance of vocals on a HELLA recording! Pressed on swirl/marble vinyl.

GER022 Hella "Falam Dynasty b/w It's-Go-In" 7" (5 Rue Christine)
SOLD OUT

GER029 - Nervous Cop (5 Rue Christine)
US: CD $14
CANADA/INTL: CD $16

DRUM NOISE!!! First Zach from Hella asked Greg from Deerhoof if he wanted to play together. The two drummers instantly decided to form Nervous Cop. But before long their simple plan of furthering each other's tinnitus was spiraling out of control. Over the next year and a half of recording, rerecording, remixing and reremixing, Nervous Cop went from sounding like a "Hot For Teacher" tribute gone horribly wrong, to a heavenly, cascading harp concerto featuring The Please's Joanna Newsom, to a dangerously obsessive piece of avant-garde electronics, to a sonic avalanche of truly nightmarish proportions. At last ready for release, Nervous Cop has turned out to be either a surrealistic masterpiece of musique concrete (what Zach thinks) or a total disaster (what Greg thinks). Either way, rest assured that you have never anything like this before. Fans of Deerhoof, Hella, Iannis Xenakis, Olatunji, Claude Debussy and Alex Van Halen - you have been warned!

GER028 - The Advantage (5 Rue Christine)
US: CD $14
CANADA/INTL: CD $16

The Advantage formed in 1998 in Nevada City, CA playing Nintendo covers on and off since then and making many member changes. The self-titled album was recorded at home and at band practice on analog and digital recorders. The band's goal is to have recorded every Nintendo song by the time each member lie dead. Women say this first Advantage record is without a doubt the most fucking shitting shit on god's fuckin' earf.

ACHE013 / D/ONE - Four Tet/Hella Split 7" (clear vinyl)
US: 7" $5
CANADA/INTL: 7" $7

Those who are uncomfortable with the uncommon, or with new land unmapped will squirm at the effortless naivety in which Sacramento's Hella deconstruct the idea of 'genre'. Do not mistake Zach's drumming for programming. The precision with which he plays will be the topic of many a heated argument about whether or not a drummer can be that good. Those of us lucky enough to see Hella perform have had our skepticism disintegrated.

They have a handful of releases out, including two full lengths on 5rc, which are held in the highest regard among those thirsty for that which is indefinable.

While it is the big picture of hella that is uncharted, it is the tiny fibers in four tet's case. Every microbe of sound is a map to the next. Every sample is new land begging to be pioneered. Free jazz drum samples evolve from delicate to nonsensical, as the melody plays on, oblivious.

Four Tet has championed the art of sample-based music, which is well documented on his three full lengths and numerous eps. He has done remixes for Radiohead, Beth Orton, and Super Furry Animals among others.

How fitting that these acts grace this 7" - the first in a series of nine 7"s devoted to challenging those who pigeonhole art, forcing beauty into makeshift genres, as these artists are the foundation of such ideals. They could not create anything have as brave as they do under any form of social code.

Track Listing:
Hella: Stephen Hawking Has A Posse
Four Tet: Both When I Am Alone and We Both Are

S-041 - Zach Hill and Holy Smokes "Masculine Drugs/Destroying Yourself Is Too Accessible" Book/CD (Suicide Squeeze)
US: BookCD $16
CANADA/INTL: BookCD $18

HILL and his band present Masculine Drugs, a hailstorm of a full-length album with thunder claps and lightning snaps that ups the ante from ZACH HILL'S past skill flaunting and certainly pushes the young mindblower to the front of the noise-maker pack. Includes an equally confounding perfect-bound children's storybook written and illustrated by HILL titled Destroying Yourself is too Accessible. This release is limited to 2500 copies.

Band Line-up:
Zach Hill
Rob Crow
Carson McWhirter
Jonathon Hischke