Sargent House
Of all the sounds and styles bursting from wild-man percussionist Zach Hill’s latest album — glitchy electro Lightning Bolt-style overload the cacophony of two Mardi Gras processions happening simultaneously — it rarely resembles anything as simple as a solo release by a drummer. Hill previous stickman for Hella Marnie Stern Mick Barr and many many more challenges genre boundaries while reining in previous indulgences with this enjoyably insane effort.
Much like 2008’s Astrological Straits the last release credited to Hill’s name Face Tat is a guest-heavy affair. Deerhoof drummer Greg Saunier hops in for a furious faceoff on opener “Memo to the Man” Prefuse 73 sprinkles sputtering magic onto “Gross Sales” while No Age team up for “The Sacto Smile” the album’s snarliest rocker. Finally after the face-melting title track Devendra Banhart contributes his honeyed vocals to the woozily seasick yet strangely sweet closer “Second Life.” Only on the album’s longest song “House of Hits” does Hill bring his kit to the forefront before quickly overwhelming it once again with dive-bomb riffs.
