Hella's Spencer Seim Announces New Album by Solos Side-Project

News > Jul 19 2012

By Gregory AdamsWhile Sacramento noise rock duo Hella returned to form last year on their Tripper LP, the band have been put on hold while drummer extraordinaire Zach Hill focuses on his high-concept hip-hop troupe Death Grips. Guitarist Spencer Seim, meanwhile, is taking the time off to rep his new project Solos. That act release their debut disc Beast of Both Worlds on September 11 through Joyful Noise Recordings.

A press release explains that the two-piece Solos reunites Seim with guitarist Aaron Ross, who slung riffs on Hella's lone five-piece LP There's No 666 in Outer Space. Seim has hung up his six-string for Solos, though, to sit behind the drum kit, leaving guitar and vocal duties to Ross.

Beast of Both Worlds was produced by Guy Massey (Manic Street Preachers, Spiritualized), and apparently touts a psych rock sound somewhere between Led Zeppelin and MGMT. The press sheet explains that [Seim's] "driving rhythms underpin [Ross's] complex vocal melodies and lyrics," which take influence from Jeff Buckley and Captain Beefheart.

You can sample the group's giddy clusterfuck "Carpe Diem," a poppy whirl of hammer-ons, drum fills and Ross's "angelically expressive" vocals over here.

Beast of Both Worlds:

1. Jung At Heart
2. All My Tribulations
3. Carpe Diem
4. Damsel Distressed
5. Schooled Fools
6. Pissin' On The Satisfaction
7. Crackin' The Modern Age
8. The Darwin Blues
9. The Beast Of Both Worlds
10. They Don't Care About Us

GET IT!