Who’s afraid of a little pop?

Certainly not Stockholm heavy rockers Hong Faux, who make their vinyl full-length debut with the self-released The Crown that Wears the Head. I think it’s well established by now that I’m a sucker for a well-written hook — all the more if it comes from Sweden — and The Crown that Wears the Head is full of them, working in a deceptively broad stylistic base and nonetheless maintaining a consistency of songwriting throughout the record’s eight tracks. The album is warm and modern, and by the time you’ve made the jump from upbeat opener “Present Tense-less” to the more thickly-grooved “Bad City Blues,” Hong Faux exact a flow so smooth it’s easy to lose track of just how far you’ve come.

Guitarist Nik Seren and bassist BQ share vocal duties, making Graveyard-esque lyrical references to Danzig (on closer “Sparrow Hills”) and skillfully infusing classic late-’60s psychedelia into the verses of “Pearlgarden.” Guitarist Björn and drummer Daniel round out the lineup, the former adding wah-driven classic rock lead work to the back half of “Jack of Clubs” while the drums prove able to adapt to whatever the riffs or pacing might bring. Earlier single “Feign Death to Stay Alive” delivers the title line, and throughout its 33-minute run, The Crown that Wears the Head provides solid heavy rock without pretense or upset to its forward push.

The LP version of the album is available for pre-order through Hong Faux‘s page on Bandcamp, and since I dug their demo and this vinyl, I wanted to offer to stream the tracks from The Crown that Wears the Head so you can hear them for yourself. With design work from Mat Bethancourt (formerly of Josiah, currently of Cherry Choke), it’s a complete package of immediately memorable tunes I thought might be worth checking out.

So please, dig in:

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For more info on Hong Faux, visit their website or hit them up on Thee Facebooks. The Crown that Wears the Head was recorded in Stockholm by the band and Fredrik Moberg at Bad Boar Studios and Green Room Studios. To preorder the vinyl from their Bandcamp page, click here.