Head On – Robert Christgau/Greil Marcus

Head On

A band we found ourselves hooked on back in 2018 through their debut album Ubik, Greek outfit Head On has so far evaded the major spotlights which we suggested were on their near horizon courtesy of their striking full-length but are back to tease them once again with their new two-track single.

The Athens hailing band again breed their tracks from a post punk heart enveloping both with just as potent post rock atmospherics but swiftly both Robert Christgau and Greil Marcus reveal the band’s sound has embraced a far richer and thicker expanse of flavouring compared to that within their impressive album. Equally there is a bolder maturity to the web of styles and imagination making up its senses entangling prowess, one increasing that suggestion that Head On deserve greater attention.

Both tracks making up the single are inspired by American music journalists and each a tribute with a touch of individualism and rebellion which could be said to equally spice the writers work. A-side is Robert Christgau, a song immediately winding attention enticing guitar wiring around ears. Rhythms gather with increasing intensity too though they never quite find a concussive touch as the track slips into its infectious post punk nurtured stroll. Tofer’s vocals join the canter, his resolute tones firm but with the same underlying off-kilter dynamic as carried by Breathiac’s guitar and Levojohn’s bass. With the equally purposeful beats of Kostas driving and adding commanding manipulation to song and listener alike within the melodic web cast by Breathiac, the track is pure captivation; essences of bands such as early Cure, Unsane, and KEN Mode coming to mind in varying degrees.

Greil Marcus provides the B-side and similarly had us on board from its initial nagging breath as guitar and bass nudges teased and lured before uniting in a more voracious canter with those same virulent hooks at work. There is something akin to a fusion of fellow Greeks SPInnERS and Russian punks Biting Elbows to the song but swiftly Head On stamp down their uniqueness as the cold taunting of the track and its virulent character thick in enterprise got under the skin. Senses scorching eruptions in sound and especially Tofer’s vocals only add to the tension and captivation of the track, its ferocity and disturbed breath adding to the thrilling drama.

Both tracks had us hungry for more and eagerly anticipating the next unpredictable Head On roar which hopefully will have a much larger landscape of ears waiting its unveiling if the band’s new single gets its deserved reward.

Robert Christgau/Greil Marcus is available now @ https://headongreece.bandcamp.com/releases

https://www.facebook.com/Head0n/

Pete RingMaster 05/02/2020

SPInnERS – Operation: Breakout

Jan29

It is four years since we were introduced to Greek outfit SPInnERS through their third album, Ghost. It was a striking and rousing invitation to the Athens hailing trio’s clamorous fusion of post hardcore, punk, noise and indie rock, and reason enough to suggest the band were poised to stir the same attention and recognition that they already had at home further afield. It is probably fair to say that those expectations have not been realised yet but that relative anonymity is sure to be tested again with the release of new full-length, Operation: Breakout.

Between those albums, the 5 Songs EP of 2018 hinted at a new breath of flavoursome adventure to the band’s sound, a richer touch of imagination now flourishing within eleven-track loaded Operation: Breakout and fair to say that the album swiftly had ears hooked with opener We Are Entering A New World Of Artificial Optimism And Massive Screens. The track is a slice of dark instrumental suggestion upon a robust surge of rhythmic enticement setting down the first potent trait to be found within the album, a melodic and imaginative drama which needed no words alongside to provide plenty to conjure with.

Of course the band’s lyrical side does nothing to defuse that potency as the following Revenge Of The Tribesmen proves, the song leading ears in with a tease of guitar before the thumping rhythmic prowess of drummer Chris joins the resonating drawl of Johnny’s bass. As the track twists and turns with hooks and riffs, guitarist Panos weaving a compelling web, his and the band’s aligning vocals roar to further accentuate the song’s magnetic holler.

Bleak is next up, exploding on the senses with cacophonous hunger before settling down a touch though that volatility is surface wore. Whereas the previous album bore the bands post punk instincts quite openly, Operation: Breakout relishes their punk instincts and the third track epitomises that intent though equally it just as openly shares the dexterous variety within the band’s music. Never breaking its raucous stride, the song makes way for the delicious clang of I’ll Be Waiting which just to contradict the previous statement emerges on a delicious post punk lure before exposing its contagion loaded rock ‘n’ roll. Moments spring thoughts of The Membranes and others times fellow Greeks, Three Way Plane are hinted at but essences in something unapologetically individual to SPInnERS.

As Endless Dive brings its alternative rock spiced yell to the band’s indie meets noise punk howl, the threesome unveil more of their magnetic writing and cross genre garage rock bearing imagination, the just as infectious No Exception a creative echo of that invention as it strolls with rhythmic seduction and bursts with equal zeal upon eager ears and appetite. There is something familiar to the track, though we suspect it is simply reflections of the band’s previous triumphs even if Serbian outfit Noyz? is provoked in thoughts occasionally, but that just an ingredient its contagious and wonderfully unpredictable punk ‘n’ roll.

A contender for best album moment, the song is quickly rivalled by Wash You Away with its scythes of post punk guitar within a more punk pop nurtured canter. Even so both songs are eclipsed by the following pair of the album’s title track and its successor Johann Trollmann’s Infinite Punch. The first of the two ambles in on almost ear taunting grooves amidst sonic atmospherics as Chris and Johnny cast their rhythmic incitement, the tones and guitar intimation of Panos keenly as manipulative on quickly hungry ears and imagination before the second of the two simply had us drooling. Just as Buzzcocks shaped their early albums with some truly suggestive and addictive instrumentals, so SPInnERS bless their new release. With the sax of Manolis Kisamitakis a wicked addition, the piece weaves an intimation of intrigue and shadows, danger and compulsion colouring every addictive note and haunting suggestion on offer.

With the acoustic embrace and melancholy of Who Cares? completing Operation: Breakout we can only declare the album the band’s finest moment yet and though it is ridiculously still easy to get lost and overlooked in the vast opportunities modern technology gives artists there is even more that feeling and anticipation that SPInnERS are ready to erupt upon the biggest landscapes of attention given the chance.

Operation: Breakout is available now @ https://spinnersathens.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/spinnersathens/

Pete RingMaster 25/01/2020

SPInnERS – Ghost

Mar8

SPInnERS are no strangers to the Greek underground scene but probably, as for us, an unknown quantity and indeed name further afield. With a push and an introduction here and there, that might change in the near future especially as more and more catch on to the band’s new album, Ghost. The nine track proposition is a ripe tapestry of flavours; from punk to grunge, post punk to indie rock, and plenty more, it is all infused into a raw and compelling, uncompromising and fascinating trespass on ears and imagination.

The Athens based band actually started back in 2008, making a swift impact with only their third live show coming as support to Dinosaur Jr in their home city. A three year hiatus swiftly followed though, before they returned and released debut album Everybody needs a lie in 2011. A self-titled successor lured greater attention with its release two years later, leading to a mini Balkan tour across Greece, Serbia, and the Macedonian city of Skopje. Now with the recently released Ghost sparking broader attention, the trio of vocalist/guitarist Panos, drummer Chris, and bassist Tommy O who joined the band following the departure of Vad who played on the latest album, are poised to become an eagerly talked of name on a broader expanse of lips.

First track upon Ghost is Unspoken Words and fair to say that within seconds its twisted lure of hooks and spiky grooves has ears attentive as tenacious rhythms drop agitated yet anthemic bait around them. With the plaintive nature of the vocals and indeed the melodic acidity which veins the encounter on top, the track quickly grows into a heftily alluring slice of sonic and emotive discord. It is bracing, leaning on the side of concussive and virulently gripping stuff sparking the album to a great start.

The following Same keeps ears and emotions similarly enthused; its abrasive but inviting body again speared by a potent line in imposing beats around a grouchily magnetic bassline. The vocals of Panos emotively and harmonically match the tempestuous sounds around it, flavours which unite in a post hardcore meets noise infused punk rock exploration of the senses.

The album’s title track steps forward next, its dissonant bellow carrying a more heavy rock/ grunge essence to its character whilst colluding with post punk/noise rock imagination. In many ways there is a great feel of seventies bands like Artery and The Membranes to the track, magnetic essences which continue to emerge as the likes of My dreams are dead and Mental Detox crawl over the senses. The first, from a yawning scraping of guitar string, slips into captivating sonic smog of thorny aggravation littered with addictive hooks and an almost barbarously persuasive swing whilst the second colours its matching rapacity in sound and attitude with warmer flowing melodies and group vocal roars. It too, is a song that is more an aggressor than seducer but the latter is what it emerges as for ears with its web of spicy grooves, throatily coaxing basslines, and fiercely involving rhythms.

Ghost hits its pinnacle over the next pair of songs, starting with Sick of You. A blend of old school punk and garage/noise rock, the track is irresistible as it plunders the passions with jangling lures and searing hooks, not forgetting more impossible to resist rhythmic tempting. Its triumph is emulated in Additional Expectations, another seemingly inspired by the post punk imagination of a Joy Division or Clock DVA but, as its predecessor, also sharing the infectious prowess of bands like fellow Greeks, Three Way Plane.

(The Apparition) provides a haunting breeze of melancholic sound around a poem performed by Julian Glover next, a track wrong-footing the listener but enticing the imagination before Wish me Well brings the album to a potent close with its thick tapestry of numerous styles and flavours previously mentioned in its own fresh and pleasing narrative. Arguably the most involved and unpredictable track on Ghost, and all songs defy the satisfying of expectations, the Bauhaus-esque song leaves a lingering impression and rich enjoyment as well as a want to explore the album all over again.

SPInnERS are nudging on greater and increasing attention outside of their homeland; a success if not now they will surely earn at some point with offerings like Ghost.

For more info on SPInnERS and Ghost check out https://www.facebook.com/SPInnERS-athensgr-180374258675694 and https://spinnersathens.bandcamp.com/

SPInnERS Ghost Tour Dates;

Friday 18/3 Salonica (ypogeio) GREECE

Saturday 19/3 Kumanovo (cafe agora) F.Y.R.O.M

Sunday 20/3 Kraljevo SERBIA

Tuesday 22/3 Smederevska Palanka (Balkan rock club) SERBIA

Wednesday 23/3 Niksic (nk club) MONTENEGRO

Thursday 24/3 Podgorica (Montenegro pub) MONTENEGRO

Friday 25/3 Kosovska Mitrovica (Soho)

Saturday 26/3 Krusevac (club zamajac) SERBIA