If you were expecting the same old tidy power rock from Seattle’s Helms Alee, they have a whole lot of mindfuckery in store on their second album Weatherhead. A bold and experimental epic, the trio cracks time signatures in half, wades through indie harmonies and steers in bulldozers full of triumphant, psychedelic riffs.
“8/16” is the band at their most eclectic, riding a swerving tsunamic riff into creeping female vocals. When Ben Verellen joins in with his stomping war cry, the song blossoms into the deranged lovechild of Jefferson Airplane, Boston and Scratch Acid. It’s a heady mixture that doesn’t go away quietly and secures them as one of the most audacious heavy bands working today. Tune in, turn on, you know the rest.
Helms Alee: “8/16” by Decibel Magazine
