So I’ve been waiting to put up this video and these songs u on the site for a while now but they’ve been pushed aside because of my busy schedule. But Unnatural Helpers are coming down to S.F. again, this time to play Noisepop. They play Thursday, Feb. 26, with the Oh Sees at Cafe Du Nord.

I, with the help of my friend James Buck, filmed this video the same night we filmed Kinski, all the way back in 2007. It’s kinda sad how lazy I’ve been.

So, I don’t know where the reverb sound in the video came from — Adobe Premiere just made it this way. But I’m leaving it in anyway because I like it.

I tried to use my computer to record their set but for some reason it just didn’t record. These songs are a mix of what the camera mics picked up. They’re really distorted and might be hard to listen to for some, but people also the recording on the first Hospitals record, and I think this is comparable.

This post is a long time coming. Basically I slacked on making a video of this show for more than a year after Kinski and the Unnatural Helpers gave me permission to film them. Sure, I have excuses, but who cares? My selfish butt denied you, faithful readers, this wonderful material from two totally outta sight Seattle bands.

Kinski was around the entire time I lived in Seattle — the picture above is one of their first promo pics, which I received when I was the arts editor for the University of Washington’s newspaper, the Daily. Yet, this show was the first time I ever saw them, but I’m so glad I did. They were touring for their fourth album, “Down Below It’s Chaos,” which, in my humble opinion, is their best work to date. Though I still thoroughly enjoy their first album “Be Gentle With the Warm Turtle” and it’s perfect Neu! meets My Bloody Valentine mix, “Down” is just a undeniable rock force from the get-go. The album’s opening track, which they play in the video below, contains one of the best punk riffs I’ve ever heard.

Since I received permission to film the band, the sound guy also let me record the set from the board. Though I hooked up and recorded on nine tracks, it seems like I only recorded two, hence why you can’t really hear the the second guitarist clearly but Chris’s guitar and singing are crystal clear (along with the drums.) I recorded it with Cubase, which is lame and unintuitive. Still, the songs are worth a download… for free!

PS — Thanks so much to James, who worked the second camera (his all the shots that don’t have a mic stand directly in the middle of the shot.)

I have loved this band since their first lineup, which featured Dean (the main songwriter) on drums and vocals, Lars (the brains behind the Intelligence) on guitar, and Jed (former guitarist of the Ninja Boners) on bass. Funny enough, at this same time, this was also the lineup of the Intelligence, the era when they recorded the songs for the Popular Shapes split 7″on Dirtnap. This lineup of the Unnatural Helpers can be heard on Babyhead comp on SS records.

Many lineups later, the Unnatural Helpers are still totally kicking the shit out of any other rock band out there today. The current lineup, which must be something like six or seventh, now features guitarist Chris from Kinski, Kimberley from the Fallouts on Bass, Mike from Dean’s old band Double Fudge on guitar, and of course, Dean on drums and vocals. With a lineup like that and with Dean at the helm, it’s no wonder they kick out the jams full force-style.

Even though their set was delayed because of technical difficulties and the vocals needed to be turned up, the Unnatural Helpers did not disappoint. Just listen:

The Helpers have a new 7″ on Dirty Knobby records, which can be ordered from Dean; just email him at deangullberry@hotmail.com And you haven’t got it already, order the s/t album as well. They’ll also be touring with Kinski in the beginning of September; check their myspace page for more details.