Head play the release party for their new album, Satisfaction, on Sept. 24. Released through Fuzzed and Buzzed Records and produced by Ian Blurton, the record runs a sans-bullshit nine songs and 29 minutes that remind that just because something doesn’t spend 15 minutes droning out (not that there’s anything wrong with that) doesn’t mean it can’t have an atmosphere. Head are rock and rollers. You can hear it in the tones and softshoe riff of guitarist Michael Starnino in “Shudder,” the warmer fuzz of Elyse Besler‘s bass on “Spell” and the shuffle in Hunter Raymond‘s drumming and singing on “Runaway,” as he steps forward with at least tacitly acknowledged post-Elvis warble as part of a series of lead/backing vocals tradeoffs with Besler that proves malleable throughout and is responsible for a good portion of the noted atmospherics.

She sings some, he sings some, they sing together, on closer “Hound Dog” they kind of sing a conversation, and though one is sad somehow to think of Starnino left out of the fun — because these songs are most certainly that; the ultra-funky “Queen” struts by with a regal wave and Besler belting out the lead part — he stays plenty busy occupying sometimes one channel, then the other, maybe both for solos that are alternately classy or drunkard-sway, depending on what the given track calls for. On “Queen,” for example, he makes the guitar sing.

The lines about “getting some” Head write themselves to an almost tragic degree, but so it goes. In terms of aesthetic, there’s a fascinating sense of ‘room’ about Satisfaction, in that the instruments sound isolated in the studio, resulting in each having its own definite space within the songs. As “Shudder” yawns awake before beginning its fuzz-buzzy (hey wait a second!) sub-three-minute procession — Raymond handling verses, Besler joining for the chorus — it sets up not only that (relative, fluid, not-just-one-then-the-other) balance between the two vocalists, but also the place each player occupies.

Guitar doesn’t bleed into the bass, bass doesn’t bleed into the guitar, and you would call the drums the unshakeable foundation of it all were “Shake” not the centerpiece of the record and one of the many boogie-minded offerings herein. I don’t know the recording circumstances, but that feel adds to the energy of Satisfaction and the glam-gone-grunge vibe that results, “Queen” and “Shake” leading to “Strychnine,” with Besler delivering one of the album’s strongest hooks — no shortage of competition — and a riff that feels like purely distilled Nirvana. Considering the punch and swing of “Runaway,” or “Shudder,” or the shove of “Queen,” “Strychnine” is something of a stylistic turn, but by the time you get there you won’t even blink. There’s no question Head are in control and know what’s up. It’s a party without being dudebro party rock, and still weird enough to be interesting. Ask more of a two-minute-and-forty-eight-second song, I dare you.

As regards track runtimes, “Spell” is the longest at 4:42, and it’s also arguably the slowest inclusion. The later “Out for Blood,” at 4:26, is more of a rush early on, with some mellowing for a longer solo stretch in its second half; more of a jam, from which they don’t bother coming back and really they don’t need to, having already long since demonstrated their songcraft. “Your Money” picks up with a more urgent chorus from Besler and Raymond, the line, “I want your money” part of a call and response between the two that’s familiar enough by then but still delivered with welcome vitality.

Like “Strychnine,” “Your Money” has a bit of grown-out-of-punk to its underlying parts, but Head make it their own they’ve done all across Satisfaction, leaving “Hound Dog” — not a cover — to blues shuffle their way through the end credits, a swinging epilogue to a record that hasn’t necessarily masked its intelligence, but for all its variety of arrangements holds to its lack of pretense. It’s a smart record, but cool about it, and in zero danger of overstaying its welcome.

The three-piece took part in Fuzzed and Buzzed‘s The Powder Box split box set, and the focus of that was on a kind of neo-glam rock, but that’s really just part of what Head offer, nodding to ’50s rock foundations, 1970s-style blues groove and the rougher heavy punk of the ’90s in a surprisingly encompassing spirit. But wherever they go, vibe goes with, and so nothing here — even “Hound Dog” tucked away at the end — feels out of place. Again, it’s hard to want anything more than they deliver.

I think this is live on Bandcamp now, so I don’t know if it counts as a premiere or whatever, but who cares. Stream the album below, and enjoy. Let go your worries for a little while:

Buy link: https://headrnr.bandcamp.com/album/satisfaction

Motörhead, Teenage Head, the head rush you got at recess smoking in the smoke pit at high school – all good things come with Head, including their new album Satisfaction. Hard charging rock ‘n roll that dares to rip off the Stones and spit it right back to mix with the blood and the vomit on the beer soaked dance floor. Satisfaction has 9 high octane tunes of rock ‘n roll swagger guaranteed to satisfy that prove – all you need is Head. Produced by underground rock legend, Ian Blurton, Satisfaction is available now on prestige black vinyl mastered by the heaviest of heads, Tony Reed, and only available on Fuzzed and Buzzed.

All vinyl copies of Satisfaction by Head will include a QR code to view the Head concert film “Almost Live at the Monarch!”

HEAD are:
Hunter Raymond – Drums / Vocals
Elyse Besler – Bass / Vocals
Michael Starnino – Guitar

Head on Facebook

Head on Instagram

Head on Bandcamp

Fuzzed and Buzzed Records on Facebook

Fuzzed and Buzzed Records on Instagram

Fuzzed and Buzzed Records website

Tags: Canada, Fuzzed and Buzzed Records, Head, Head Satisfaction, Ontario, Satisfaction, Toronto

This entry was posted on Friday, September 16th, 2022 at 8:19 am and is filed under audiObelisk, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.