And I burned every bridge just to get to the other side
Just this one more thing and then I will post something not-band-related! But. THE HEADSTONES HAVE A NEW ALBUM. I HAVE THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ABOUT IT. Raise your hand if you're surprised!
I just have to get something off my chest right at the beginning, so if you want squee-only, skip this paragraph, but: the way they produced the vocals (OVERproduced the vocals, IMO) makes me want to weep a little. It severely dented my first listen of the album, though I really loved everything else, but whatever effect they have on Hugh's mic is NOT working for me, especially having it on nearly every track. I know it's kind of the fashion to have some electronic element to vocals, but man. SO not my thing. I feel like it's like wrapping a really beautiful picture in cling-wrap! Just. WHY. WHY IS THAT A CHOICE YOU WOULD MAKE. HUGH DILLON'S VOICE IS LIKE THE EIGHTH SEXY WONDER OF THE WORLD. I don't understand! *cries*
HOWEVER. That said, I love basically everything else about it--it's just a GREAT FUCKING ALBUM overall, and I think it perfectly refracts the heart and soul of the band through the lens of the time that's passed since they last wrote together. I'm trying to figure out a way to express this without sounding like there's a hierarchy, because I love all their albums for different reasons; I've never been able to pick a favorite, and this one goes right in that mix. But this one does feel different, and the closest I can get is that I feel like the earlier albums were mostly made up of primary colors, all bright and bold and sharp, and on this one, they're still working with those, but they're working more often with the in-between shades as well, so the whole effect is more lush and layered without losing even a little bit of that razor edge. This unquestionably feels like a Headstones album, but you can hear the years in between, too, and all the life and lessons lived and learned in that time. It's the kind of comeback that every band would love to have but that few can pull off, and I think they nailed it in true signature style. WELL-PLAYED, FELLAS.
A few thoughts on specific songs:
Long Way To Neverland (YES Headstones, I defy your all-caps-no-spaces naming convention, adore you though I do) is, I assume, the story of that comeback, and so it makes sense they're releasing that as the first single, because it seems like the perfect (re)introduction to the band. I adore the turns of phrase ("with a bombed-out Girl Scout lying southbound on the ground," oh man *___*), and the metaphor--I keep thinking of a quote, it was either Hugh or Bruce McDonald, talking about rock 'n' roll being a sort of protracted adolescence, and I love that this song kind of has it both ways, like Neverland is simultaneously something to hold on to and something to be careful of, that once you finally get there, it probably won't look like you expected it to, and it SHOULDN'T. And then there's the sucker punch of guitar and drums that keeps lurking around the corners throughout the verses (NGGH), and the vaguely ominous ending. LOVE it. (This song could also be read as a Durham County vid, and makes me wonder if that was when Hugh got the inspiration for it. TOTAL conjecture, but it could work, right?)
Change My Ways gets my vote for the best song to play really loud in your car on a sunny day (this goes in that pantheon along with Marigold, Million $ Moment, Absolutely, Dripping Dime Sized Drops, One More Move, Reframed, etc.). That slinky bassline just slides its way into your bones like the grooviest bassline that ever grooved--TIIIIIIIIMMMMMMM--and then the rest of the band kicks in and it becomes completely impossible to sit still. This song has that trademark Headstones quality that makes me want to get off my ass and fucking go change the world, and I love it SO MUCH for that--it's got that ideal Headstones quality of personal responsibility combined with "fuck you if you don't like it." Hee. "This is it, that's the shit I've been talking about" is pretty much the perfect summation of how I feel when I hear it; this band has written on this same theme so many times before, at so many points in their lives, and I love it EVERY TIME, because I feel like they (Hugh especially) NEVER stop pushing, never stop learning, never accept less than their best, and so they MEAN it every time, and therefore it inspires me EVERY TIME. It's pretty magical, really.
Far Away From Here has an amazing cinematic quality to it--both in the sense that the song itself has the feeling of great scope and distance, with the moody melody and the slight echo on the vocals, but in the sense that it makes me want to think up stories to go along with it, or vid it, or SOMETHING. I think some songs have a particular quality where the sound itself has a really strong sense of narrative to it, independent of the lyrics, you know? Maybe that's what makes me think "this should be a vid song" even when I don't know exactly what fandom to vid it to. It feels like open space, maybe outer space, but maybe driving grimly along a rainy highway, too, the lonely stretch of road on the way to a last stand. I think Change My Ways is the most immediately accessible song on the album, but FAFH is sneaky-compelling and really rewards re-listens; it's got a lot of layers, and so much scope for imagination, too. I definitely think it's the most artistically interesting, at least for my money, and I'm THRILLED that they're exploring sounds like this.
I love Astronaught for its simplicity, for its sincerity and for the rambling arpeggios, like staring out the back window of a car as the prairies roll by. (AND a happy ending, no less. AWWWWWW.) I love that the defiant punk shouts of Outta My League and the introspective musings of Midnight of This Life can coexist on the same record. (MoTL is going to be a song I only listen to when I'm in very specific moods, I think, but I love that it exists on a Headstones album; I think it takes a particular kind of guts to put such a stripped-down, slow, moody meditation on a rock album--even songs like Devil's Road weren't quite that NAKED, you know?--and I really appreciate that the band is willing to expand their definition of themselves like that.) I love the clever playground wordplay of Go Back the Other Way; it honestly sounds like an inside joke that got made into a song, and knowing this band, that would not surprise me! <333333
As for the songs we've heard before, I do looooove that SOS made the cut--to me, that is the anthem of this most awesome reunion fic that is happening right in front of my eyeballs, and I love that the band seems to feel that way too. <3__<3 (Plus there is that rehearsal video they posted that involved Trent all nestling up to Hugh's cheekbone and HEY, THANKS FOR THAT, it will be playing in my pants every hour, on the hour, for the foreseeable future.) I am also SUPER glad to have a clean recording of Final Analysis--maybe some of my favorite lyrics on the album--though I NEVER recognize the intro for some reason. HEE. It's so good, though! (The riff sounds a bit like Fistfight at Dawn, actually, so maybe that's why I get confused.) And though Don't Follow the Leader isn't my favorite song from their demo album (I have unholy love for both Roadpops and Sweet Pea), I love the history of it, and that it was obviously important to THEM to have it on here, the unbroken line between their first days together and their new days together (with slightly altered lyrics, of course, because Headstones). BAAAAAND.
And most of all, every time I listen to this album I can't help but think of how fucking EPIC it's going to be when they do it live. Because that should solve my vocal-production issues and leave me with nothing but EVERYTHING I LOVE, PLUS THE HEADSTONES IN FRONT OF ME, plus (I hope!) my friends around me and I am going to FREEEEEEAK OOOOOUUUT. And it's going to be fucking AWESOME.
In conclusion: HEADSTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONES. \m/ \m/ \m/
This post is also at Dreamwidth! http://brynnmck.dreamwidth.org/293936.html Comments at Dreamwidth:
I just have to get something off my chest right at the beginning, so if you want squee-only, skip this paragraph, but: the way they produced the vocals (OVERproduced the vocals, IMO) makes me want to weep a little. It severely dented my first listen of the album, though I really loved everything else, but whatever effect they have on Hugh's mic is NOT working for me, especially having it on nearly every track. I know it's kind of the fashion to have some electronic element to vocals, but man. SO not my thing. I feel like it's like wrapping a really beautiful picture in cling-wrap! Just. WHY. WHY IS THAT A CHOICE YOU WOULD MAKE. HUGH DILLON'S VOICE IS LIKE THE EIGHTH SEXY WONDER OF THE WORLD. I don't understand! *cries*
HOWEVER. That said, I love basically everything else about it--it's just a GREAT FUCKING ALBUM overall, and I think it perfectly refracts the heart and soul of the band through the lens of the time that's passed since they last wrote together. I'm trying to figure out a way to express this without sounding like there's a hierarchy, because I love all their albums for different reasons; I've never been able to pick a favorite, and this one goes right in that mix. But this one does feel different, and the closest I can get is that I feel like the earlier albums were mostly made up of primary colors, all bright and bold and sharp, and on this one, they're still working with those, but they're working more often with the in-between shades as well, so the whole effect is more lush and layered without losing even a little bit of that razor edge. This unquestionably feels like a Headstones album, but you can hear the years in between, too, and all the life and lessons lived and learned in that time. It's the kind of comeback that every band would love to have but that few can pull off, and I think they nailed it in true signature style. WELL-PLAYED, FELLAS.
A few thoughts on specific songs:
Long Way To Neverland (YES Headstones, I defy your all-caps-no-spaces naming convention, adore you though I do) is, I assume, the story of that comeback, and so it makes sense they're releasing that as the first single, because it seems like the perfect (re)introduction to the band. I adore the turns of phrase ("with a bombed-out Girl Scout lying southbound on the ground," oh man *___*), and the metaphor--I keep thinking of a quote, it was either Hugh or Bruce McDonald, talking about rock 'n' roll being a sort of protracted adolescence, and I love that this song kind of has it both ways, like Neverland is simultaneously something to hold on to and something to be careful of, that once you finally get there, it probably won't look like you expected it to, and it SHOULDN'T. And then there's the sucker punch of guitar and drums that keeps lurking around the corners throughout the verses (NGGH), and the vaguely ominous ending. LOVE it. (This song could also be read as a Durham County vid, and makes me wonder if that was when Hugh got the inspiration for it. TOTAL conjecture, but it could work, right?)
Change My Ways gets my vote for the best song to play really loud in your car on a sunny day (this goes in that pantheon along with Marigold, Million $ Moment, Absolutely, Dripping Dime Sized Drops, One More Move, Reframed, etc.). That slinky bassline just slides its way into your bones like the grooviest bassline that ever grooved--TIIIIIIIIMMMMMMM--and then the rest of the band kicks in and it becomes completely impossible to sit still. This song has that trademark Headstones quality that makes me want to get off my ass and fucking go change the world, and I love it SO MUCH for that--it's got that ideal Headstones quality of personal responsibility combined with "fuck you if you don't like it." Hee. "This is it, that's the shit I've been talking about" is pretty much the perfect summation of how I feel when I hear it; this band has written on this same theme so many times before, at so many points in their lives, and I love it EVERY TIME, because I feel like they (Hugh especially) NEVER stop pushing, never stop learning, never accept less than their best, and so they MEAN it every time, and therefore it inspires me EVERY TIME. It's pretty magical, really.
Far Away From Here has an amazing cinematic quality to it--both in the sense that the song itself has the feeling of great scope and distance, with the moody melody and the slight echo on the vocals, but in the sense that it makes me want to think up stories to go along with it, or vid it, or SOMETHING. I think some songs have a particular quality where the sound itself has a really strong sense of narrative to it, independent of the lyrics, you know? Maybe that's what makes me think "this should be a vid song" even when I don't know exactly what fandom to vid it to. It feels like open space, maybe outer space, but maybe driving grimly along a rainy highway, too, the lonely stretch of road on the way to a last stand. I think Change My Ways is the most immediately accessible song on the album, but FAFH is sneaky-compelling and really rewards re-listens; it's got a lot of layers, and so much scope for imagination, too. I definitely think it's the most artistically interesting, at least for my money, and I'm THRILLED that they're exploring sounds like this.
I love Astronaught for its simplicity, for its sincerity and for the rambling arpeggios, like staring out the back window of a car as the prairies roll by. (AND a happy ending, no less. AWWWWWW.) I love that the defiant punk shouts of Outta My League and the introspective musings of Midnight of This Life can coexist on the same record. (MoTL is going to be a song I only listen to when I'm in very specific moods, I think, but I love that it exists on a Headstones album; I think it takes a particular kind of guts to put such a stripped-down, slow, moody meditation on a rock album--even songs like Devil's Road weren't quite that NAKED, you know?--and I really appreciate that the band is willing to expand their definition of themselves like that.) I love the clever playground wordplay of Go Back the Other Way; it honestly sounds like an inside joke that got made into a song, and knowing this band, that would not surprise me! <333333
As for the songs we've heard before, I do looooove that SOS made the cut--to me, that is the anthem of this most awesome reunion fic that is happening right in front of my eyeballs, and I love that the band seems to feel that way too. <3__<3 (Plus there is that rehearsal video they posted that involved Trent all nestling up to Hugh's cheekbone and HEY, THANKS FOR THAT, it will be playing in my pants every hour, on the hour, for the foreseeable future.) I am also SUPER glad to have a clean recording of Final Analysis--maybe some of my favorite lyrics on the album--though I NEVER recognize the intro for some reason. HEE. It's so good, though! (The riff sounds a bit like Fistfight at Dawn, actually, so maybe that's why I get confused.) And though Don't Follow the Leader isn't my favorite song from their demo album (I have unholy love for both Roadpops and Sweet Pea), I love the history of it, and that it was obviously important to THEM to have it on here, the unbroken line between their first days together and their new days together (with slightly altered lyrics, of course, because Headstones). BAAAAAND.
And most of all, every time I listen to this album I can't help but think of how fucking EPIC it's going to be when they do it live. Because that should solve my vocal-production issues and leave me with nothing but EVERYTHING I LOVE, PLUS THE HEADSTONES IN FRONT OF ME, plus (I hope!) my friends around me and I am going to FREEEEEEAK OOOOOUUUT. And it's going to be fucking AWESOME.
In conclusion: HEADSTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONES. \m/ \m/ \m/
This post is also at Dreamwidth! http://brynnmck.dreamwidth.org/293936.html Comments at Dreamwidth: