Album Review: Hippie Death Cult - Live At The Star Theater
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
With their upcoming appearance at Desertfest London rapidly approaching, this seemed like perfect timing for the release of Hippie Death Cult’s first live album. Recorded in their hometown of Portland, Oregon, it was the last night of their 2024 tour, which saw them trek across Canada, Europe and their home country, and it captures them in the moment and at their finest.
There are 5 songs on the album, beginning with the brilliant “Arise” that sees noises from the crowd greet the band as they pulverise and steam roll their way through the song. As someone whose never seem them live before, it has really whetted my appetite about seeing them in London, as the trio have a fearsome reputation. The drums get a proper pounding in sections from Harry Silvers, and the melodies and groove seem so effortless from guitarist Eddie Brnabic and bassist/vocalist Laura Phillips.
As the band say “some things went right that night, some things went wrong. It’s raw. It’s live. It’s us” and they plough straight into the awesome “Toxic Annihilator” which sees the vocal from Phillips stretched and manipulated to really dominate the song. From this, you can sense the power and the cohesiveness that the trio have when playing live. The solos from Brnabic flow so well and give the songs a certain energy that may be lacking on record. I’ve seen many bands where this happens, and they follow this with the psychedelic brilliance of “Shadows” with that silky bass sound coming through effectively allowing the silky guitar sound to evolve and showcase what the band can do.
As the crowd get more vociferous, they are silenced by the beautiful and mesmerizing vocals from Phillips at the start of “Red Giant” before the song explodes into some sort of hedonistic heavy riff fest from a band who are a rising force in this genre. They combine their grooves with rhythmic competency and it’s clear to see why they are so well revered, and the stage dynamic is captured perfectly.
The night ends with “Circle Days” a 16-minute masterpiece, which feels like a space odyssey, where you are the only person invited. It’s an immersive experience listening to this, and it’s easy to be swept along with the passion and emotion emanating from the speakers but you get the real band, taking caution to the wind and letting themselves go, being free to do whatever the hell they want. And on every single level, it works so wonderfully well.
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