July 26th, 2019 - El Doce Noctiluca

Hola and happy Friday rockers and craft beer freaks!  The Meista here today getting the weekend started right with a pairing of "Noctiluca", the latest album from Seattle rockers Helms Alee and El Doce Mexican Lager from Roosters Brewing Company!  This pairing is dedicated to my main man Jerry Howard, who introduced me to the amazing Helms Alee!  Cheers and hails brother!!

 

Album Info:

• Artist: Helms Alee
• Title: "Noctiluca"
• Recorded: 2019 
• Release date: April 26th, 2019 (5th full-length studio album by Helms Alee)
• Record company: Sargent House Records
• Production: Sam Bell
• Album cover art: Eric Fisher (layout) and Hozoji Matheson-Margullis (photography)
• Personnel: Dana James (bass guitar and vocals), Hozoji Matheson-Margullis (drums and vocals), and Ben Verellen (guitar and vocals)
• Additional musicians: 
• Musical style: Sludge rock/metal, post punk, noise rock, experimental rock
• Sound: I'm going to attempt to sum up the sound of Helms Alee's "Noctiluca" with just a few adjectives; I will probably fail miserably to truly capture the sound of this amazing band on this amazing album, but here goes: stunning, lush, mesmerizing, aggressive, beautiful, sublime, powerful, transcendent, magical, mysterious, perfect, etc.
• Major themes: Life, the sea, abstraction, anger, joy, relationships, humanity, darkness, reality, truth, etc.
• Notes: I saw Helms Alee recently open for Earth and was totally blown away!  I believe they are still on tour.  If you get a chance to see this great band live, take it!!  I met them at the show as well and they were some of the friendlies, most gracious musicians/humans I have ever met!
• Tracks: 

1. "Interachnid"
2. "Beat Up"
3. "Play Dead"
4. "Be Rad Tomorrow"
5. "Lay Waste, Child"
6. "Illegal Guardian"
7. "Spider Jar"
8. "Pleasure Torture"
9. "Pandemic"
10. "Word Problem"

    Brew Info:

• Brewery: Roosters Brewing Company (Ogden, Utah)
• Website: http://www.roostersbrewingco.com/ 
• Brew:  El Doce Mexican Lager
• Style: Mexican-style lager
• Serving: 12 ounce can
• ABV: 4.0%
• Pour: The El Doce pours a crystal-clear, golden-yellow with a frothy and firm, bright white, 1-finger head with good retention and soapy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is grainy, bready, lightly earthy, and slightly sweet.  There are aromas of corn, crackery biscuit, lightly toasted bread, light herbs, summer grass, light lemon, and a hint of apple. 
• Taste: The taste of El Doce follows the nose and is characterized by grainy, bready, grassy, herbal, and a light sweet flavors.  There are notes of corn, white bread, crackers, light apple, grassy hops, a touch of lemon zest, and a hint of earthy honey.
• Mouthfeel: Light-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel of the El Doce is very crisp, smooth, and dry with a clean, dry finish.

Overall pairing: The Roosters El Doce Mexican Lager is a crisp, straightforward, and very drinkable brew... a perfect foil for the intensity and brilliance of Helms Alee's latest kickass album, "Noctiluca"!  Those bright flavors go great with powerful vocal performances while the crisp, grainy notes go well with the punky/sludgy musical intensity!

Salud!!  Keep on rockin' my friends!!