Helms Alee

These Motherfuckers are some bad motherfuckers!!!

Had it not been for the fact that this Seattle crew came to town with TORCHE and BIG BUSINESS (around June of last year if I remember it right), I would never have been exposed to them otherwise and that would have been highly regrettable. This little 3 piece from the land of StarSucks, Jimi Hendrix, and Flannel-as-couture rocked out so fucking hard at my beloved Churchill’s Pub that immediately upon returning to the Pig Cave I got online and ordered both of their releases on Hydra Head Records.

 Yea, Yea, I know they’re a touring band and needed the cash! I should have copped their two joints at the gig! What the fuck do you want from me? I was broke, you douche! I was only able to get into the show thanks to my show business friends. My show biz insider and one of my favorite people on Earth- Rick, threw my wife and I on the guest list otherwise I would not have been able to make it out to Churchill’s for the gig that night. They blew Big Business right off of the fucking stage, which was ironic since ‘Business’ was partially responsible for the decent Tuesday night turnout, probably thanks to being billed as ex-members of The MELVINS.

Anyways, this little 3-piece crew tore it the fuck up while captivating the shortened attention spans of a fickle Miami crowd. The star of the band that night would have to be the drummer. This chick can play like a motherfucker. You had to see her pounding away on the skins; she was fucking hammering them so hard that the drum kit kept sliding forward. Some of the people near to the front of the stage kept coming up to adjust the drums back towards her. The drummer also sings on lots of the jams, and that in itself is a quite a display because she does so during parts with these sick off-beat time signatures. This blew my mind to no end. You wouldn’t believe the fucking coordination on this broad! The bassist also sings on parts, at times on her own and other times in unison with the drummer, and this produces some of the most interesting bits of the songs, where they take on this weird kind of ‘children schoolyard chant’ type of vibe. The bassist walked into Churchill’s “Green Room” amidst full-on, Miami Weed and Beer debauchery and I instinctively passed the Dutchie upon the left hand side. She seemed a little shy to take a toke off of my mammoth joint, but I said “Oye, this is Miami, so Dale!” and she politely took her dainty two tokes and passed back. 
Wait, I'm still bugging out on the fact that a real shit-hole like Churchill's has the audacity to call one of their catacombs a "Green Room".

 The guitarist dude has a brutal voice as well. His guitar work brings the songs in and out of rumbling distorted quakes, with some really (dare I say) beautiful melodic interludes woven in. The studio work on both of their joints has a very warm feel to it, often sounding like a grungy, heavy cup of Hot Rock n’ Roll Cocoa on a rainy Seattle day. Perfect listening for when you are flipping through all your old Sub Pop vinyl in your Log Cabin. Check out the WEATHERHEAD record.  I think it’s just a little better than their debut NIGHT TERROR.
 (I'm just being the fastidious little fuck you've come to loathe!) 
Fuck it, I would pick up both if I were you. A must-bring record for my next road trip. If you can get the joints on vinyl, I would suggest that, they probably sound phenomenal on that format with those production values!