Helms Alee

Helms Alee drew their moniker from a sailing maneuver involving the adjustment of a vessel’s canvas. The Seattle trio fuses bright shoegaze textures with dense sludge metal, forging a sound that stands apart from both traditions. Active since the late 2000s, their relaxed yet tuneful approach simultaneously recalls the buoyant dissonance of the Pixies and the crushing weight of Big Business and the Melvins. Early recordings such as the 2011 album Weatherhead emphasized the brighter elements of their palette, whereas later full-lengths, including 2019’s Noctiluca, grew heavier and more varied in style; the 2022 release Keep This Be the Way further examined studio experimentation.

The group assembled in 2007 around guitarist Ben Verellen, previously the bassist in Harkonen, alongside bassist Dana James and drummer Hozoji Margullis, also known as Hozoji Annie Matheson-Margullis. Their first album, Night Terror, appeared in 2008 on Hydra Head. For the follow-up, Weatherhead, they enlisted Minus the Bear’s Matt Bayles as producer. Issued by Sargent House in early 2014, Sleepwalking Sailors layered moody noise rock with substantial sonic mass, a quality also present on the eleven-track 2016 effort Stillicide and its glacial post-rock and stoner-metal expanse. Their next project was guided by producer and engineer Sam Bell, whose credits include Minus the Bear, R.E.M., and the Cars; the resulting Noctiluca surfaced in spring 2019, again through Sargent House.

Outside of touring, Ben Verellen maintained a thriving workshop constructing and selling amplifiers. During sessions for Keep This Be the Way, the members installed recording equipment inside that same space, granting them unrestricted time to compose and track. The added flexibility yielded a more inventive and exploratory record that also mirrored their stage dynamics more closely. Cellist Lori Goldston, whose past collaborations include Nirvana, Cat Power, and Protomartyr, contributed to the recordings.