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
Copyright RingMasterReview: MyFreeCopyright
The rousing start is only accentuated by Fun and Games, a track which lit up the airwaves with its uncaging as one of last year’s best singles. A calm but keenly coaxing electronic pulse dances in ears first; it’s subdued but apparent skittishness soon surrounded by a contagion of air splattering beats and attention burrowing hooks, it all courted by the delicious dark bassoon-esque grumble of the bass. The infection loaded stroll is soon equipped with greater temptation as Dax brings her perpetual craft and captivation, alt pop and punk insisting on uniting with the track’s rock instincts to dig deeply and relentlessly under the skin.
Was there any specific idea behind the forming of Bleeding Raven and also in what you wanted it and your sound to offer?
This is a song which began back in the early nineties and reappeared on a cassette they found when the band was assembling demos for what originally was to be a 4-track EP. Completed last year, Bret adding lyrics and melody to the original demo, Wish No Harm became the lead single for Dear Tired Friends and there could be no finer invitation to the album. The opening bassline was immediate manna to the ears, its lure unapologetic flirtation echoing the core essence of eighties post punk and only enhanced by the swiftly following enticement of vocals and guitar. There is something of Bauhaus meets The Cure to the song with a just as flavoursome tease of bands such as Leitmotiv and Gene Loves Jezebel but nevertheless stands unique to Audra and their dark imagination.
Latest single, Black Rainbow, opens up the release, its gentle melodic beginning an evocative coaxing. Soon it is building up into a creative crescendo, the lively rhythms of drummer Jon Wyatt uniting with the jangling prowess ringing from the guitars of Charles Reed and Ray Lark, with the latter’s similarly magnetic vocals swiftly adding to the catchy temptation. Already there is emotional weight and tempestuous to the track and its mental illness themed intimacy, the keys of Alex Cannon radiant smog within the textures as the bass of Chris Saldin brings firmer shape to its inherent shadows.
To try and place the sound of Dry Cleaning, it sits somewhere between Pylon and the Au Pairs with an originality which embraces some familiar hues but twists them to its own inventive devices. Shaw’s spoken word styled delivery sparks thoughts of Lesley Woods of the latter of the previously mentioned bands and at times The Anaemic Boyfriends, her words almost snatches of life and opinion woven together to create and echo kitchen sink situations as well as broader issues. EP opener, Goodnight quickly reveals it is a potent and striking incitement just as magnetically matched by the sounds which stride alongside. The first song concussively strikes like a sonic cobra before breaking into a virulent stride the Gang Of Four would be proud of. Vocals and rhythms collude in their temptation, the insistence of the latter led by the throbbing bass irresistible as guitars add their choppy lures and beats swing with matching rapacity. A melodic hook right out of the Buzzcocks songbook is extra manna to devour as it entwines the intimacy of word and reflection.
It is a start soon eclipsed though, the initial off-kilter sonic lure of next up Tonsil enough alone to ignite our discord loving instincts. It is a kind of false start but the trigger to the glorious swagger wearing exploits of the track, that continuing discord a delicious clamour of temptation and trespass often enticing like a raw pop fuelled mix of Shellac and The Melvins. The final sonic sigh of the track drifts into the opening vocal and sonic discordance of Sooner Later. Around a compelling bass throb, the brief but dramatic track ignites and disrupts the senses, noise and voice a volatile incitement driven by the irresistible manipulation of the drums.
Opener Endless Expanse rises up from a distant sea mist; light and intrigue growing by the second as guitars weave their invitation. Swiftly the rich enticing tones of vocalist Davy De Schrooder add to the lure; the intimation of Jasper Bullynck and Kris Vannecke’s guitars uniting with his enticement as rhythms masterfully stroll. Ebbing and flowing in intensity, the track with an almost tender touch engulfs the senses as mystique laces its cosmopolitan melodic tendrils. The track is simply bewitching, a magnetic stirring start to the album and just a sign of things to come.
The album’s title track brings a scuzzier breath to ears; its post punk irritability echoed in the John Lydon textured vocals but again there is a repetitious coaxing teasing and tempting at the centre of the fuzz ball which necessitates only submission to its infectious demands. As its predecessor, it brings another hue to Defeated as does next up Burn Yourself, though its electro punk surge is akin to the opener. With the increasingly magnetic vocals almost gliding over the tides of noise springing from synths and guitar, it was so easy to be swept up in the raw yet skilfully nurtured arms of the track as thoughts colluded with its lyrical insight. Defeated is described as “a reaction to mounting disappointments and frustrations with increasingly frustrating and disappointing realities” and with intimacy and a worldly observation its often dissonant words hit the spot whilst almost arguing with the rousing catchiness of their vehicles.
As with their first album, the band’s sound harkens back to eighties post punk/new wave and their gothic companions but with a bolder identity and imagination belonging to Secret Shine. It opens with Lowest Point, the initial coaxing mist of synths soon joined by the atmospheric lures of guitar and bass, keys simultaneously thickening as melodies simmer and echo in the ears. The instrumental’s shadows carry over into the following Stage Lights where the mesmeric groan of the bass and aligning dark textures seduce the imagination ready for the song’s spirited stroll which erupts soon after. Like a fusion of Leitmotiv and The Sound the track dances on the senses, its rhythmic shuffle sculpting their own catchy charm to the temptation. Superb in voice and enterprise, the song swiftly grips attention, vocals as enticing as the sounds around them and with a great nagging essence to its tenacious rhythms, infectious melodies, and tantalising hooks, the tone and heart for the album is set.