Two plus two equals four, and these guys can rock

Hella

with Outhud

Monday, April 11, 7 p.m.

Garfield Artworks…

Hella

with Outhud

Monday, April 11, 7 p.m.

Garfield Artworks

Math rock and disco-punk: two genres that you wouldn’t expect to be thrown together. But these two will be mashed together in the form of the bands Hella and Outhud Monday night, and thankfully, they’re both incredible.

Hella consists of the math rock duo of Spencer Seim (guitar) and Zach Hill (drums). As a two-piece, most people wouldn’t expect this band to be capable of the work they put on their recordings, but instead, they annihilate all of the naysayers. The two have been known for outrageous live show antics full of energy and vigor, inciting the audience to go entirely insane.

Hella also recently released a double-album set titled Church Gone Wild / Chirpin’ Hard. Church features Zach Hill’s fantastically spastic drumming with some experimentation of sounds. But this Outkast-inspired idea allowed guitarist Spencer Seim to go in a completely different direction. He decided to put all of his instrumentation through filters and make a soundtrack to a video game that never existed. This allows Chirpin’ Hard to have the same bite as some of their previous work, such as “The D. Elkan” on the fantastic 2002 album Hold Your Horse Is.

Hella will be playing as a four-piece for this tour, which could add plenty to their extravagant live show, or make the duo seem more human and require some extra individuals. It should be awesome either way, as Dan Elkan (vocals, keyboard, guitar) and Jonathan Hischke (bass) will be rounding out the power duo’s sound at the show.

Also on tap for the show will be the fantastic electronic band Outhud. This !!! (pronounced “chk-chk-chk”) side project is a little bit more subdued and electronic than their disco-punk brethren, but still manages to entertain the masses with their danceable flows. Outhud has also put out a new record since their dazzling 2002 record S.T.R.E.E.T.D.A.D. titled Let Us Never Speak of it Again. Speak features more vocal work than the previous LP, and inspired major rave reviews in the past weeks.

Outhud manages to keep the aural spectrum very interesting, as they never rule out other genres; you’ll find lots of disco and dance beats coupled with strings, jangly guitars and even reggae-dub work.

Even with this complexity and genre mix-up, the music flows and moves, but never becomes boring. This isn’t some sloppy jam band, but rather an act that knows how to explore sonic textures while still showing the crowd a fantastic time.

Garfield Artworks has been known to showcase some pretty incredible bands, and this time around, it should be a total class act. Lots of frenzied music, dancing and good times will be shared by all as these two worlds collide for an evening of fun.