Spencer Seim

Solos

Review: Solos’ Beast of Both Worlds

Solos: Beast of Both WorldsSolos: Beast of Both Worlds (Joyful Noise, 9/11/12)

“Carpe Diem”

Solos: “Carpe Diem”

It may seem strange that the members of Hella have gotten poppier and poppier since the height of their impenetrability from 2005 to 2007. Long-time fans, though, will recognize a penchant for melody amid complexity that dates back to its full-length debut in 2002.

Solos is a new project from Hella guitarist and cofounder Spencer Seim and avant-folk artist / temporary Hella singer Aaron Ross. Following the overt melodies of Seim’s synth-core project sBACH, Solos is a jaunt into slightly more avant-pop territory, combining Led Zeppelin-ish acoustic rock with psych-pop and Seim’s pounding, distinctive beats.

50 Unheralded Albums from 2011

50 Unheralded Albums from 2011

In just one more trip around the sun, another swarm of immensely talented but under-recognized musicians has harnessed its collective talents and discharged its creations into the void. This list is but one fraction of those dedicated individuals who caught our ears with some serious jams.

Morrow vs. Hajduch

Morrow vs. Hajduch: Noxious Foxes’ Légs

Scott Morrow is ALARM’s music editor. Patrick Hajduch is a very important lawyer. Each week they debate the merits of a different album.

Noxious Foxes: LégsNoxious Foxes: Légs 2xLP (Broth IRA, 7/26/11)

Noxious Foxes: “Doth Shalt Noth”

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Morrow: In the vein of Hella and other masterful duos that overachieve with layered loops and hot licks, Noxious Foxes is a pair of like-minded guitar/drums artists. The music, though technical, is rooted more in melody and groove than Hella — somewhere closer to Spencer Seim spinoffs The Advantage or sBACH if you were to further force the comparison.

Guitarist Justin Talbott pulls double duty with synths and electric pianos over the guitar loops, adding a tinge of the Blood Brothers aesthetic to the mix. (There isn’t a pair of sassy-as-fuck vocalists, however.) And the occasionally 8-bit-esque synths add to the video-game vibe that the guitars give off, making the Advantage comparison more apt, even if there are no Contra covers.

Weekly Music News Roundup

Hella returns as a duo; Converge posts a studio preview of a new song; Busdriver, Shining (Norway), Om, Russian Circles and Aphex Twin all have new albums on the way.

Hella Recording New Album as a Duo

Despite each releasing a solo album in 2008 and having plenty of other projects on their plates, multi-instrumentalist Spencer Seim and drummer Zach Hill are working on their first full-length album as Hella in four years.