Written by Fense

Looking at Zach Hill’s album cover for Astrological Straits (out now on Ipecac Records), one is likely to blurt out a common acronym these days: WTF!?!? This cover shows Hill with what looks like play-dough face makeup. Not surprisingly, the same response is yielded when one hits the play button on Astrological Straits. The album is packed with a bizarre and eclectic style of avant garde experimentalism.

“Hindsight Is Nowhere” is the first video, to my knowledge, to stem from Astrological Straits (in retrospect, it may be the second, as there’s also a video for “Dark Art”) and it is just as filled with bizarre antics as the album itself. Truly, the video could have been the photo shoot for the album cover. It shows Hill wearing the mask and the same striped shirt; it also features some Dan Deacon-esque kaleidoscope moments sans the added fluorescent colors.

I’m not really sure what to think of this. It’s pretty far out there and while I have become more open to experimental music, this is… like I just said… pretty far out there. I connect with portions of this album, but some of it is just beyond my reach. Then again, this all should be (yet again) no surprise, as Hill was originally the drummer for Hella. Guess you’ll have to make up your mind for yourself.

Zach Hill: Hindsight Is Nowhere [mp3]

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