As a concept, the idea of an acoustic Hella record does not really jump out and grab your attention. Then again any acoustic album by a band that is known and beloved for being on the raucous side of things is more times than not, a really bad idea. Lightning Bolt: Unplugged? Brilliant!!

At the risk of sounding presumptuous, I can imagine that being told that your acoustic renditions of old favorites were close enough to the originals that they didn’t distract from the originals would be a compliment on high. Maybe Hella would disagree, but that is exactly the case with Acoustics. Splitting its trackage evenly between their first two LPs (2002’s Hold Your Horse Is and 2004’s The Devil Isn’t Red) Hella cranks out these numbers with glorious abandon. Electricity or not, Acoustics is stone cold, lead pipe proof that it ain’t the volts that make Hella great, it’s all in the hands. – David Lichius (2006, The Daily Copper)