Zach Hill
(Ipecac)
Zach Hill is a hell of a drummer. Best known for his work behind the kit for Hella and Marnie Stern, Astrological Straits is his first solo outing. Not surprisingly, its similarities to Hella are clear. Hill’s frantic, everywhere-at-once drumwork is never far from the foreground. The rhythms are tight and fierce, the melodies warped. Hill has always specialized in barely contained chaos, and Astrological Straits is no different.
But because Hill sticks to his guns, the record is hardly unexpected, and his style—consistent as it may be—offers little by way of dynamic. It’s a hurricane with no eye, and that can grow tiresome. The most unexpected and rewarding part of the album is its second disc, a 33-minute continuous take called “Necromancer” that sees Hill, with pianist Marco Benevento, finally giving the music a vital sense of dynamic that lets it breathe and makes his flurried intensity all the more powerful.
Standout Tracks: “Necromancer,” “Hindsight Is Nowhere,” “Tick On” BRYAN REED
