THE HELLP

Artist // The Hellp + Between Friends + Untitled (Halo)
Venue // santa monica pier
Date // 04302026
Indexed By // lauren + emily

The Hellp represents a lot of what people hate about LA. The electroclash duo, comprised of Noah Dillon and Chandler Lucy, has made a brand of pretentiousness.

The Hellp on Santa Monica Pier. Concert footage courtesy of @sanctitys (TikTok).

Every few weeks, a new clip of the duo will surface, which all follow the same format. Dillon and Lucy are side-by-side. They are both wearing slim-fitting leather jackets and an even slimmer pair of jeans. Dillon is gesturing wildly, spouting his latest inflammatory take, which he seems to wholeheartedly subscribe to. Lucy is nodding beside him.

Most recently, in a video interview for Church Electronic, Dillon states, “Gatekeeping is essential. Egalitarianism within the space of taste is a fallacy, … and beauty is probably the only thing that truly matters as a human.” The comments are flooded with teenage fans who are either taking the bait or bending over backwards to defend him.

Controversies aside, The Hellp is undeniably a pioneer in the scene. The duo’s brutal honesty and unapologetic commitment to their maxims have kept them in the spotlight at a time when talent bursts into the mainstream just as quickly as it’s swept into obsolescence. Dillon and Lucy are largely credited for reviving Hedi Slimane’s menswear style, which has since been seen on acts like The Dare replicated by brands like Jaded London. Dillon has also directed multiple projects outside The Hellp, including the album artwork for Rosalia’s Lux and the music video for 2hollis’ “flash”.

Chandler Lucy claims he is the driver of Hedi Slimane’s resurgence. Screenshots courtesy of @sadprt.

That reputation doesn’t even include their discography. With the slogan “more than noise but not quite music,” The Hellp has become known for noisy, electropop hits like “Colorado” and “Caustic” – a blueprint that has since been replicated in duos like Fcukers, Bassvictim, and Snow Strippers.

In multiple interviews, Dillon has grumbled about his desire to be taken seriously as a “real artist.” He touts their latest album, Riviera, as an attempt to distance themselves as the faces of the “Indie Sleaze Revival,” a label they’ve come to despise. Ironically, the album has only accelerated their rise to fame – lead single “Here I Am” is more reminiscent of LL’s electropop than Vol. 1’s alt-rock inspired sound, and the duo is slated to tour with Sombr this fall.

Their growing popularity brings us to the Santa Monica Pier, where they’re headlining the second annual Madhappy & Friends event. Trendy LA restaurants flanked either side of the boardwalk, offering twenty-dollar burgers, breakfast burritos, and Swedish candies. The clothing brand also took over the carnival games and rides for the night – the three of us happily burned the sixty dollars in game credit included with our tickets in a fruitless attempt to win exclusive, Madhappy-branded plushes in a game of ring toss.

The night’s crowd comprised LACSHCA high schoolers, college students, the coveted Silverlake men (who were all dressed in their best Noah Dillon costumes), and West Side parents watching their preppy miniatures. Every archetype of the so-called “LA Piece of Shit” flooded the front of the pier, where the DJ booths stood above them.

Untitled (halo) was first to play, as crowds were still filing their way into the pier and milling about the selection of food trucks. The band is regularly featured on flyers of LA parties and house shows — a fitting pick for a very Los Angeles-themed event. Tonight’s set omitted their shoegaze, indie-rock releases in favor of an assortment of 2010s club classics. The mix of fakemink and Crystal Castles faded into a selection of throwbacks and dubstep that soundtracked our ring toss purgatory.

Next up was Between Friends: the Laurel Canyon-raised sibling duo of Savannah and Brandon Hudson have been on the radar of internet fame since 2019, with their EP we just need some time together and their viral song “affection.” The duo cemented their place in the current electropop wave with last summer’s WOW!, an amalgamation of indie and danceable electronic sound. Between Friends seemed like the most fitting pull for the event – their mix of sweet, woozy bedroom pop and electronic, synthy noise seemed to match the doodled stars and cute critters that adorned the tents and $200 hoodies— and apparently also the growing crowd, who sang every word of “affection” with their phones out.

As the sky darkened over the pier, The Hellp, the headliners of the night, took to the DJ booth. We had unwittingly run into them earlier during the Between Friends set, where a group of eager teenage boys had already crowded around to take pictures (My roommate whispered in my ear that the guy in front of us was “Out-Noah Dillon-ing” the other leather-clad Noah Dillon dupes in the crowd — to which we promptly found out it was just Actually Noah Dillon). They were actually quite nice. Noah motioned us to “step right up” for a photo, and Chandler thanked me behind smiling teeth for loyally streaming their music.

We were a bit disappointed but not surprised, under the pretense that they might have performed their songs live, given that there was no indication on the promotion. Despite this, the duo did mix their own music, as well as notable tracks from other Indie Sleaze Revival Larp Slop associates such as Rommulas’s “No me Importa” and Ninajirachi. Other choices of note were two Radiohead songs that kind of killed my vibe, Streetwise by Pretty Sick, and crowd favorites from Azealia Banks and Lady Gaga. Much like untitled (halo), the duo seemed to opt for more recognizable tracks and catchy beats over the subversive electronic noise of their records, leading to an overall forgettable set. Blending with conversational chatter and the cheers from the fair rides, it seemed like some of The Hellp’s chrome-plated pretentiousness— likely to their chagrin — was beginning to chip.

We decide to call it a night after the second Radiohead song plays. We sit on the pier under the full moon and ocean breeze, and eat soft serve as the crowds file out. “Here I Am”’s wailing synths drone on in the distance. From LA to LA… what more could you ask for?

* THE INDEX

Overall rating // [2.9]

Sound // [2.4]
Crowd // [3.4]
Venue // [3.0]