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Head Stream New Album Satisfaction in Full

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on September 16th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

head

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” notHead Satisfaction 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

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Head Premiere “Burning Bridges” Video Ahead of Livestream May 7

Posted in Bootleg Theater on May 5th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

head

Toronto bluesy heavy rockers Head will release their debut full-length later this year through Fuzzed and Buzzed Records. To celebrate that fact, and, one assumes, life in general, the three-piece will stream a live set from the Monarch Tavern — you know it, right there on Clinton St.; cool font on the wall outside; the place with all the whiskey; you’ve been there — on May 7. For those who didn’t catch them on the glammy The Powder Box 7″ comp that Fuzzed and Buzzed put out circa 2019 or who didn’t hear their 2018 self-titled three-songer produced by Ian Blurton, the live take premiering here of “Burning Bridges” sees the three-piece putting drummer Hunter Raymond to work with Danzig-style backing howls behind bassist Elyse Besler‘s lead vocal lines, the track grooving its way easy into the slowdown given due fuzz both in the low end and as the setup for guitarist Michael Starnino‘s solo, a little bit of effects swirl thrown in for good measure. And by “good measure” I mean a bit of danger.

Dig it? Yeah, you probably will. There’s no pretense but a lot of attitude, and they sell that well in antihero fashion. I haven’t seen the full set or heard the record, but taken next to the 2018 tracks, “Burning Bridges” is longer, slower, and more languid in how it plays out, and none of that is cause for complaint on this end. Whether you’re itching for live shows or you just take this little snippet and file it away under “vinyl to look for later,” that’s fine. The point is the song’s cool and the band put you right where they want you for the duration, offering a memorable hook as your reward for having made the trek along with them.

‘Almost Live at the Monarch’ — cute — is streaming May 7 and the yet-untitled debut album is set to release this summer. I’ll take it as it comes and hope “Burning Bridges” makes the cut for the final tracklisting there. Until then, I’m glad to host this premiere.

Get into it:

Head, “Burning Bridges” live video premiere

Heart pounding, fist pumping, hard charging rock ‘n roll power trio Head will be releasing their debut album on Fuzzed and Buzzed. Head was previously heard on the Powder Box, a glam rock ripper triple 7 inch set put out by Fuzzed and Buzzed. Ahead of their bombshell release this summer, Head will be performing “Almost Live at the Monarch!” a “live” stream on Friday May 7 filmed at the Monarch Tavern and put together by Lexology Ltd. The “live” stream will feature the entire new album along with old hits from the past and some surprising wicked covers. For a rockin’ rollin’ good time, all you need is Head.

Check out the full show under “events” at: http://facebook.com/monarchtavern/ OR at https://www.facebook.com/events/844354159485192/.

Head is:
Hunter Raymond – Drums / Vocals
Elyse Besler – Bass / Vocals
Michael Starnino – Guitar

Head, Head EP (2018)

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

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Fuzzed and Buzzed Records Presents The Powder Box Triple-7″ Box Set

Posted in Whathaveyou on November 26th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

Think of it like a split. If it was a split LP, you’d have three bands splitting a 12-inch platter or something like that, and it would be business as usual. Everyone would agree to art and cover some portion of the costs, the label would get behind it and blamo, the magic happens. Fuzzed and Buzzed Records out of Toronto has made the idea a little more complicated. The forthcoming The Powder Box — available direct from them in Canada, through DHU Records in Europe or the All That is Heavy store in the States — brings together Head, Cherry Hooker and Darlene Shrugg under an appropriately glam-style roof, with three separate seven-inchers all snuggled up together in a box set.

This is the second time the label has done this, arriving behind The Altar Box, which has long since sold out. I’d expect much the same with this round, despite the shift in aesthetic. In any case, kudos to the label for changing it up, and continuing its mission of highlighting their regional underground. That’s how you make shit happen. They obviously believe in it, and there’s very little better than that to sell something as far as I’m concerned.

They’ve posted a lot about it, here’s a bit of it:

va the powder box

THE POWDER BOX (2019)

HEY ROCKERS!!!!

OUR EUROPEAN HOMIES OVER @dhu_records ONLY HAVE 6 COPIES LEFT AND THAT’S IT!!!!

BOOGIE ON OVER AND SCORE ONE OF THE LAST POWDER BOXES FEATURING TORONTO ROCKERS @headrnr @cherryhooker @darleneshrugg

IF YOU’RE IN CANADA OR THE STATES, HIT UP @allthatisheavy OR YOURS TRULY @fuzzedandbuzzed!!

STAY BUZZED!!! @fuzzedandbuzzed FEST STARTS THIS THURSDAY NOV 28th 10pm @swandiveto!! NOV 29th IS THE HAMILTON RELEASE PARTY @doorspubhamilton AND THE FOLLOWING DAY, NOV 30th WE HAVE THE FINAL PARTY AT LEGENDARY @bovinesexclub

COME PARTY, BRING SOME FRIENDS OR MAKE NEW ONES!!!!!!!

3 Record Box (45″ Vinyl)

HEAD
A: Shudder
B: Journey to the Center of the Mind

CHERRY HOOKER
A: City Sidewalkin’
B: Machine

DARLENE SHRUGG
A: Reptile Radio
B: Some Weird Sin

https://fuzzedandbuzzed.myshopify.com/
https://www.instagram.com/fuzzedandbuzzed/
https://www.facebook.com/Fuzzedandbuzzed-631019733954614/

Head, “Shudder”

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On the Radar: Drifter

Posted in On the Radar on January 14th, 2013 by JJ Koczan

Caking a ’90s alternative influence in fuzz, heavy riffs and a gnarly feedback bent, Aussie heavy rockers Drifter unveil their gritty debut EP, Head, with few frills and a pervasive garage-type rawness. The five-song release is over in 13 minutes, so you know the Melbourne-area trio aren’t wasting much time getting down to business, and sure enough they don’t. Cuts like “I’ve Been Bad” and the punkier “Priest” run from point A to B, and even the crunchier, grunge-derived “Halo” keeps to a more or less basic structure and lack of pretense, leading into closer “So Long,” which reminds of something Nick Oliveri might have brought to the table in Queens of the Stone Age, filling out sound-wise in the chorus behind the half-screamed vocals of guitarist Dan King, bassist Scott Fraser and drummer Dave Payne.

Each of the five tracks ends in feedback, and it’s King‘s guitar leading the way for almost the entirety of the proceedings, but Drifter do find room to work some complexity into their approach and their style. It’s a jump in aesthetic from “Halo” to “Priest” that’s striking even with “All Over Town” between them, the latter working off an almost pop-punk progression to showcase its “take that, maturity”-type chorus while the former churns and builds a considerable tension in just a three-minute span while also proffering one of those in-spite-of-itself hooks that made grunge so powerful a pop force in the first place. In terms of the sheer fuzz, “All Over Town” might be my favorite track. King‘s riff is simple and the vocal cadence touches on Fu Manchu without ever going overboard. Like the EP as a whole, it’s also over before you know it.

That works though, since if Drifter started spacing out it would take away from the immediacy of their hooks and the punkish base they show on Head. The CD arrived in a creatively-folded sleeve with the recording info, tracklisting and a cartoon cover of caveman beardos in shorty-shorts, so it’s good to know that whatever else Drifter have going on, they’ve got a good sense of weirdness to match. Can only help them going forward, and in the meantime, they work a bit of that into the music as well. You can hear the tracks on Head by hitting up the Drifter Bandcamp or looking them up on Thee Facebooks. Here’s the EP in its entirety for your perusal:

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