Metascore
64

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 12
  2. Negative: 1 out of 12
  1. Church Gone Wild/Chirpin Hard may not be exactly groundbreaking or revolutionary, but it's the kind of idiosyncratic release that reminds experimentalism to laugh when something's funny.
  2. At nearly two hours long, Church Gone Wild/Chirpin Hard is anything but a precise masterstroke. It is, however, a flawed, majestic account of what can happen when a band splits down the middle to compose on their own terms, with no artistic differences and no coalescing of ideals.
  3. Urb
    80
    Combined, you have the best blotter soundtrack ever. [Jun 2005, p.78]
  4. Naturally, the double-album's peaks occur when both members' ideas intersect.... With these moments, Hella back up their ambition with impressive amounts of ingenuity and elbow grease, creating a White Album for disgruntled Gen Xers still finding solace in shoeboxes full of NES cartridges.
  5. Under The Radar
    70
    Both haphazardly ramshackle and calculatedly sublime. [#9]
  6. Second disc Chirpin' Hard is the crowd-pleasing Speakerboxxx to Hill's less-accessible Church Gone Wild.
  7. Aside from Church Gone Wild’s best moments, there’s not much material here that can compare with the intelligence and distinctiveness of the duo’s best work.
  8. Alternative Press
    60
    Chirpin Hard makes you feel like you're getting chased by a swarm of giant mosquitoes in a scrolling Mega Man hellscape circa 1992, while Church Gone Wild is a nerve-shattering whirlwind of atonal chaos. [May 2005, p.168]
  9. It’s the sound of two very talented musicians getting their proverbial creative ya-ya’s out, temporarily sullying their good name to lay ground for something potentially even more exciting.
  10. Spin
    58
    To divide Hella's mind is to hack their talent in half. [May 2005, p.105]
  11. Hill’s disc captures everything that’s easy to hate about Hella.... Seim’s album, on the other hand, is easily the most fully-realized work to bear the Hella name.
  12. The Hella boys have immeasurable talent, as proven by their past (and better) releases; unfortunately, Church Gone Wild/Chirpin Hard has nothing but complete disregard and contempt for talent.
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 8 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 8
  2. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Jun 22, 2022
    6
    Zach's half is by far the best half to the point where the latter half seems pointless.
  2. RandolphR.
    Sep 6, 2008
    10
    A true testament of the endless sea of talent that is Spencer Seim and Zach Hill.
  3. CatfishRivers
    Feb 14, 2006
    10
    Mindblowing...reminds me of late era don caballero, trans am, and the boredoms ... it even has a bit of My Bloody Valentine sloshing about in Mindblowing...reminds me of late era don caballero, trans am, and the boredoms ... it even has a bit of My Bloody Valentine sloshing about in there. Sometimes all the noise is just stacked so sublimely that it sounds like breaking through into some unknown mental space. I totally dig this. Full Review »