Name: Essential Aliens
Brand: Helvetia

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

JNR372cd

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music US

Limited edition

Release date

2021-11-19

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier US

Secre­tly

Tax rate US

Sales:8.875

UPC / Barcode

602309893842

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Total Cap

1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

JNR372lp-C1

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Clear

Clear Vinyl

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Extended format: Yes

753936908062

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1 / Extended format: Yes / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / clear

Artist

Helvetia

Genre US

Rock-Pop

Label US

Joyful Noise Recordings

Helvetia is an independent and experimental alternative music group hailing from Seattle, Washington. Formed by Jason Albertini after the disbandment of Duster, Helvetia released their debut record "The Clever North Wind" in 2006 on The Static Cult Label, distributed by Up Records. They gained national exposure by touring with Built To Spill. Led by Jason Albertini and supported by a rotating live lineup, including C. Dove Amber, Jim Roth, and Scott Plouf, Helvetia's third release "Headless Machine of the Heart" (2008) was recorded entirely on a 4-track tape machine.

Continuing to release music through The Static Cult Label under Clay Parton's guidance (a fellow member of Duster), Helvetia draws inspiration from Switzerland - Albertini's childhood home - as evident in their name which refers to the female personification of the country. Over the years, they have put out seven releases on The Static Cult Label between 2006 and 2011 while sharing stages with notable bands like Built To Spill and Meat Puppets.

Known for his raw and experimental songwriting style, Albertini primarily records Helvetia's albums himself using a 4-track recorder. Their album "Dromomania," set to be released on October 2nd via Joyful Noise Recordings, showcases influences ranging from '70s Kinks to Captain Beefheart and

Essential Aliens is the 10th Helvetia album. Helvetia is the solo project of Jason Albertini from Duster. Helvetia resides in Portland, Oregon but was formed in Seattle, Washington in 2005 after Duster first went on hiatus. The songs on Essential Aliens were recorded over the last year, in Jason's basement.

Since the band’s inception, Jason has continued to employ a rotating cast of band members and collaborators, which now includes Steve Gere and Samantha Stidham. Steve and Jason also played in Built To Spill together from 2012 until 2018. In 2019 Duster started playing shows and recording again. During this time Jason started writing what would become This Devastating Map. Released at the beginning of August last year, Post-Trash called it “a constantly shifting project that takes experimental lo-fi into brilliantly colored psych directions with a concise glow.” Then the pandemic took hold. With normal life at a standstill and unable to hang with his bandmates, Jason focused his energy on his daughter’s homeschooling schedule, and recording. He focused on finishing one song a day and was soon honing in on a new album.

Essential Aliens distills and simplifies the Helvetia sound. Reverb and delay are absent, replaced by warm fuzz and intimate room sounds. Progressions morph with stoner repetition and end in head scratch. Drums distort, muted bass lines prop up acoustic guitars blown out on a cassette four-track. Cheap electric guitars are barely in tune and recorded direct, almost painfully in your face. The songs are short blasts of psychedelic chill, unrooted by genre, a rummage around an alien radio dial. These are simple songs about keeping yourself from falling apart, to remind you that you can be strong. The visual elements for the album come from a recurring dream, which centers around a period in Jason’s childhood when he lived in Basel, Switzerland, and believed that he lived with a ghost. In the dream, Jason’s life becomes turned upside down because of a series of unexplainable events that turn out to be orchestrated by the ghost, and he wakes up convinced that he is a ghost as well. These are simple songs about keeping yourself from falling apart. To remind you that you can be strong. This is a weird blues.

Essential Aliens

Music US

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