Chll Pll She Owns

Chll Pll is latest project to feature Zach Hill's wicked drumming, this time with another percussionist, Zac Nelson, aka Hexlove. The album starts off with a pair of brilliant experimental pop songs with melodies reminiscent of Animal Collective. But by the third track the light melodies turn dark and the experimenting really begins. This is about where you might want to start holding onto something, because for the next half hour Zach and Zac will take you on a trip through

layered noise, electronic beats, and torrential percussion that promises to be a wild ride. The furious sound reaches its climax during the track Now Then and When, and the last three tracks bring it down a notch and serve as an excellent outro that might help you adjust to the real world once you take off those headphones.

Like HEALTH, Chll Pll carefully walk the line between writing catchy songs and just making noise. And they aren't afraid to jump to one side of that line for a minute or two; She Owns is devastatingly catchy, like a pop song from another planet. Further into the album Super Zodiac is an energetic collage of drones, synths, percussion, and vocals with little discernable structure. Lack of structure is in no way a criticism for these guys, however, as even their weirdest moments fit right in with the vibe of the album and always hold your attention. This album would be right at the top of my list of albums to listen to while on psychedelics, except the short spoken segment in the title track followed by thunderous percussion might be a little much to handle.