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Oct 25, 2010At times, the album may seem like it's made to confuse as much as thrill, but neither of those gets to the truth of Face Tat. Simply put, to paraphrase one of Hill's lyrics, it'll turn you into energy.
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Dec 22, 2010Nevertheless anyone wishing to appreciate not simply the overwhelming skill of a drummer at the very top of his game, but also one of the cleverest, best-constructed, most arresting releases of the year, should certainly pay this album a visit.
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Dec 15, 2010For the most part, Hill's stubborn sonic bravery earns margin for a handful of bum notes, leaving Face Tat among the most rewardingly challenging listens of 2010.
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Dec 13, 2010The songs that do hit the number, however, are unimaginably nimble in their enthusiastic originality, carrying on the busy-bee legacy Hill has been building and venturing into exciting territory. Considering how ground-floor some of his proper-solo recordings have been, this is an intriguing development.
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Oct 25, 2010Face Tat is cartoonishly alive and shape shifting, but the funny thing is that there some are actual tunes here too with Mr. Hill's enthusiastic singing and big melodies.
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Oct 25, 2010Even when songs lose sight and flail indulgently, the drumming is astounding. Zach Hill might just be the most prolific drummer of our time (as if his work on Marnie Stern's third album, released a few weeks earlier, wasn't proof enough). But, on top of this, he is a most unique visionary.
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Oct 25, 2010As is the case on most of the album, Hill's distorted vocals can sometimes seem like an afterthought, but perhaps they are intended to be just one of the many ingredients squashed into the album's vibrant mixture, to be heard as one final act of creation-through-destruction.
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Dec 16, 2010Moral of the story: don't listen to this while operating heavy machinery or people will die.
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Dec 13, 2010On Face Tat, the chaos never stops: it's akin to a musical interpretation of all the theme park rides in the world, taken one after the other.
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MojoApr 4, 2011Face Tat is less free-form than Astrological Straits, 2008's exhilarating, exhausting debut, but it's still a full 15 rounds of aural boxing. [Feb 2011, p.100]
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UncutDec 20, 2010Persist though, and there are countless fascinating poly-rhythms and concealed melodies in the sub-strata. [Jan 2011, p.91]
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Dec 13, 2010It may sound cobbled together and unwieldy at times, but, then again, that's part of the magic of Zach Hill.
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Alternative PressOct 25, 2010Face Tat demands remarkable attention from its listeners; if only Hill would have challenged himself as much during its creation. [Nov 2010, p.112]