The Heads - Thumbs
Reflections on the Discography of the Heads
The lengthy version of "Coogan's Bluff" gives a renewed shine to "Relaxing With," which is packed with psycho-stoner vibes that could knock the plaster off the walls—it's a really great album, no doubt about it. The thickness of the electrifying debut creates high expectations for the second album, "Everybody Knows We Got Nowhere" from 2000, which absolutely meets those expectations, and even exceeds them. It has a sound similar to the first work but more robust, with particular attention to production, which is definitely cleaner. "Coogan's Bluff" is a stunning suite, but the qualitative thickness of the tracks coupled with an underlying homogeneity makes this the highest peak of their career. "Thumbs" (one of my favorites) sounds like a track gifted by Bevis Frond. Paul Allen himself seems at times possessed by a resurrected Nick Saloman. All the premises are good, and with these conditions, you can only move forward. The third work, however, is the first slight step back. "Under Sided" is an honest album, with solid chapters like the opening "Dissonaut," which echoes the shoegaze of My Bloody Valentine’s "Isn't Anything," with the arabesque scenery set up by Simon Price's guitar in "Trilogy Part 3," but something is lost in the sound, which is more submissive and inclined to explore new horizons—a change that arrives with "33" (2004), divided into thirty delirious parts where tribal rhythms alternate with industrial-ambient scratches. The musical turning point is evident and is cemented with the two volumes of "Rituals From The Heads & The Big Naturals" (2007) created in collaboration with, indeed, The Big Naturals. Even in these grooves, there’s plenty of ambient with forays into free improvisation spread throughout the album. Between 2004 and 2007 (but also beyond), notable mentions include "Dead In The Water," a somersaulting and listless piece on a psycho-noir thread that's been reheated and consumed more times than can be counted over the past 40 years, and "Under The Stress Of A Headlong Dive," where, except for the final 14-minute suite "Creating The Eternal Now Is Always," they could have skipped the appointment without any regrets. The downward trajectory is now in free fall. "Irrepressible Heads" from 2008 is an album that is supposed to be intentionally lo-fi (and I love lo-fi), but in reality, it’s an album devoid of ideas, poorly executed, and sounds that way as well. The same judgment applies to the subsequent "Vertigo Swill" (2011), a miserable orgy of noise that even the cassette recorder my uncle gifted me for my first communion couldn’t have produced. Looking back, I would have never subjected myself to such torture. Which, the communion? Yes, but also the listening of the album.
The trend doesn’t change in "Enten-Eller" (subliminal message in the backward vocals in Either Part 2?) and "Inner Space Broadcasts Volume 1 Part 1." But sooner or later, everyone returns to their roots, everyone finds their way home, and that’s how in 2015 the album of redemption arrives.
Reflections on the Discography of the Heads
The lengthy version of "Coogan's Bluff" gives a renewed shine to "Relaxing With," which is packed with psycho-stoner vibes that could knock the plaster off the walls—it's a really great album, no doubt about it. The thickness of the electrifying debut creates high expectations for the second album, "Everybody Knows We Got Nowhere" from 2000, which absolutely meets those expectations, and even exceeds them. It has a sound similar to the first work but more robust, with particular attention to production, which is definitely cleaner. "Coogan's Bluff" is a stunning suite, but the qualitative thickness of the tracks coupled with an underlying homogeneity makes this the highest peak of their career. "Thumbs" (one of my favorites) sounds like a track gifted by Bevis Frond. Paul Allen himself seems at times possessed by a resurrected Nick Saloman. All the premises are good, and with these conditions, you can only move forward. The third work, however, is the first slight step back. "Under Sided" is an honest album, with solid chapters like the opening "Dissonaut," which echoes the shoegaze of My Bloody Valentine’s "Isn't Anything," with the arabesque scenery set up by Simon Price's guitar in "Trilogy Part 3," but something is lost in the sound, which is more submissive and inclined to explore new horizons—a change that arrives with "33" (2004), divided into thirty delirious parts where tribal rhythms alternate with industrial-ambient scratches. The musical turning point is evident and is cemented with the two volumes of "Rituals From The Heads & The Big Naturals" (2007) created in collaboration with, indeed, The Big Naturals. Even in these grooves, there’s plenty of ambient with forays into free improvisation spread throughout the album. Between 2004 and 2007 (but also beyond), notable mentions include "Dead In The Water," a somersaulting and listless piece on a psycho-noir thread that's been reheated and consumed more times than can be counted over the past 40 years, and "Under The Stress Of A Headlong Dive," where, except for the final 14-minute suite "Creating The Eternal Now Is Always," they could have skipped the appointment without any regrets. The downward trajectory is now in free fall. "Irrepressible Heads" from 2008 is an album that is supposed to be intentionally lo-fi (and I love lo-fi), but in reality, it’s an album devoid of ideas, poorly executed, and sounds that way as well. The same judgment applies to the subsequent "Vertigo Swill" (2011), a miserable orgy of noise that even the cassette recorder my uncle gifted me for my first communion couldn’t have produced. Looking back, I would have never subjected myself to such torture. Which, the communion? Yes, but also the listening of the album.
The trend doesn’t change in "Enten-Eller" (subliminal message in the backward vocals in Either Part 2?) and "Inner Space Broadcasts Volume 1 Part 1." But sooner or later, everyone returns to their roots, everyone finds their way home, and that’s how in 2015 the album of redemption arrives.
JonatanCoe
22 nov 19
DeRank ™: 12,00 Championship
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