Hella

Indie rock duo Hella features guitarist Spencer Seim alongside drummer Zach Hill. The pair first convened during spring 2001 and quickly built local support in the Sacramento region, which led to a contract with 5 Rue Christine Records. Their opening full-length, Hold Your Horse Is, surfaced in 2002 and defined the group’s turbulent instrumental noise-rock style. Remaining highly active, they delivered Total Bugs Bunny on Wild Bass through Narnack in 2003, followed by The Devil Isn’t Red on 5RC in 2004 and the double set Church Gone Wild/Chirpin’ Hard via Suicide Squeeze the next year. November 2005 brought the CD/DVD package Concentration Face/Homeboy, again on 5 Rue Christine. After issuing the EP Acoustics near the end of 2006, the band shifted to Ipecac Records once 5RC closed following founder Slim Moon’s exit. At that point Hella expanded into a quintet by adding guitarist Josh Hill—Zach’s cousin—bassist Carson McWhirter, both of whom had previously played with the pair prior to Hella’s formation, and vocalist Aaron Ross; the absence of a singer had originally prompted the duo’s start. Their debut album as a five-piece, There’s No 666 in Outer Space, appeared in January 2007. Although the group’s prospects looked unclear after that release, a 2009 announcement confirmed a return to the original Seim-and-Hill lineup. The two promptly reentered the studio and resurfaced in 2011 with Tripper, their first new full-length in four years, issued by Sargent House.