Astrological Straits

Astrological Straits is the debut full-length studio album by American recording artist Zach Hill. It was released on August 12, 2008 by Anticon and Ipecac Records.

Astrological Straits
Studio album by Zach Hill
Released	August 12, 2008 (2008-08-12)
Recorded	Retrofit Recording, Sacramento, California, United States
Genre	Experimental rock math rock noise rock progressive rock electronic jazz
Length	92:38
Label	Anticon, Ipecac
Producer	Zach Hill, John Reed Thompson
Zach Hill chronology
Astrological Straits (2008) Face Tat (2010)

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	72/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Alternative Press	80/100[2]
The Phoenix	[3]
Pitchfork	6.9/10[4]
PopMatters	[5]
Spin	6/10[6]
Sputnikmusic	[7]

Astrological Straits has received generally favorable reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews and ratings from mainstream critics, the album received a metascore of 72, based on six reviews.[1] Michael Patrick Brady of The Phoenix called the album an "unrestrained torrent of challenging yet tuneful rock" and pointed out that this album served as an outlet for Hill's "abstract ideas".[3] Marc Masters of Pitchfork Media found that Hill's drumming dominated the album. He compared the sound to the work of Liars, Boredoms, Lightning Bolt and Frank Zappa while comparing his vocals on the track "Hindsight Is Nowhere" to those of Angus Andrew, vocalist of Liars.[4] John Bohannon of PopMatters complimented the melodies on the album while he criticized the "bombardment of snare drum and obnoxious electronic tones" as well as the choice of including Les Claypool in the album.[5] Nick Greer of Sputnikmusic called Hill's drumming "virtuostic, strange, and interesting" while describing his vocals as compressed and monotonous. He compared the guitar sounds on the album to those of Hella's Spencer Seim's work with added "strange slides and electronic, microtonal blurs". Greer appreciated the more pop-driven songs to more experimental ones and called parts of the album "nearly unlistenable".[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Zach Hill[8].

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Iambic Strays"	5:15
2.	"Toll Road"	4:45
3.	"Street People"	1:52
4.	"Dark Art"	4:20
5.	"Keep Calm and Carry On"	5:51
6.	"Hindsight is Nowhere"	4:02
7.	"Ummer"	1:59
8.	"Stoic Logic"	3:09
9.	"Uhuru"	8:46
10.	"Momentum"	4:18
11.	"Unseen Forces"	3:13
12.	"Tick On"	3:08
13.	"Astrological Straits"	8:57
14.	"Necromancer"	32:57
Total length:		92:38

Personnel

• Credits for Astrological Straits adapted from album liner notes.

Performance Steve Borth – saxophone Les Claypool – bass guitar Josh Hill – guitar Zach Hill – art direction, bass, cornet, electric piano, gong, guitar, drums, effects, keyboards, loops, mamola, melodica, piano, production, programming, synthesizer, trumpet, vocals Jonathan Hischke – bass, synth bass Dan Elkan – backup vocals, guitar Carson McWhirter – bass, recording Robby Moncrief – guitar

Chino Moreno – vocals Zac Nelson – vocals Tyler Pope – effects, programming Randy Randall – guitar Katelyn Reeves – cornet, flute, photography Dean Spuntz – baritone guitar RT Thomas – guitar sample John Reed Thompson – bass, bugle, engineering, guitar, mixing, production, recording, trumpet Marco Benevento – piano (Necromancer)[9]

Technical

• John Golden – mixing
• Rich Good – design

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label	Ref.
United States	August 12, 2008	2CD	Ipecac	[10]
		2LP	Anticon	[11]

References

1. "Astrological Straits Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
2. "Critic Reviews for Astrological Straits". Metacritic. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
3. Brady, Michael Patrick (August 12, 2008). "Zach Hill - Astrological Straits". The Phoenix. Archived from the original on March 25, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
4. Masters, Marc (August 26, 2008). "Zach Hill: Astrological Straits". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
5. Bohannon, John (October 6, 2008). "Zach Hill: Astrological Straits". PopMatters. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
6. Gross, Jason (October 14, 2008). "Zach Hill, 'Astrological Straits' (Ipecac)". Spin. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
7. Greer, Nick (August 14, 2008). "Zach Hill - Astrological Straits". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
8. "Astrological Straits - Zach Hill". AllMusic. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
9. http://ipecac.com/artists/zach_hill
10. "Astrological Straits". Amazon.com. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
11. "Astrological Straits". Anticon. Retrieved March 24, 2014.

External links

• Astrological Straits at Discogs (list of releases)