Open Head’s songs are unrelenting. They lurch spasmodically like George Romero zombies and slither with serpentine energy, creeping deeper into our brains with every stab of angry synth and slash of angular guitar energy. The Kingston, New York quartet produce a fractured brand of post-punk, born in the shadow of the nearby hulking metropolis but drawing inspiration from myriad locales. Laced with elements of noise rock, hip hop, and post-hardcore, their music is Byzantine and jerky, frenetic and slathered in murk.
What is Success, the band’s sophomore effort, coalesces with a snarl. Synths lacerate the air over a cacophony of chittering insectoid cymbals and broken beats. This maelstrom eventually births opening song “Success,” on which Open Head angrily question the nature of the titular subject and why they should even care about it. A gruff, spectral vocal croak rises to a shout as chiming guitars permeate an angsty rhythm. The song devolves into a synth-guitar drone as it fades away. They’re setting up a pattern here, periodically deploying outré interstitial passages, dropping them in to linger briefly in chaos before launching the next song salvo. These noise and drone bursts create cohesion in the album, framing the songs within a sinister narrative. Beat by beat, Open Head reveal their story.
There are times when the band’s spastic lurch becomes a full-on zombie horde onslaught. “N.Y. FRILLS” churns with Sonic Youth guitar swirls and an insistent drum pummelling. Angularity dissolves into a stormy throb accompanied by a sinister, almost spoken word, vocal. “House” attempts to attain the same pulsating thrust but dissolves into a sweat-soaked David Yow-like abandon. Slashes of guitar punctuate the thrum of the bass while a vocal chant becomes a lacerating yowl. Both songs are simultaneously fascinating and frightening as Open Head demonstrate their ability to charge ahead unfettered.
It's the band’s combination of volatility and finesse that makes What is Success a complex and compelling listen. The frenetic and intricate drumming keeps the songs taut yet unpredictable, always thrusting but in multiple directions simultaneously. The guitars and synths seem about to explode like a chained dog ready to leap, and the growl-to-howl vocals chase the energy of the music like a disturbed swarm of bees. This battle between chaos and syntropy turns the second law of thermodynamics on its head. What is Success is a listenable manifestation of balance in the universe.
What do you see? How do you feel? Do you feel any sort of contentment?
I want you to feel our Mother singing to you through her gift of plants. I wanted to share a few of the pictures I have recently taken while living and exploring in Athens for the summer. Few of these are familiar and a few are new. I hope if you are reading this that you take the time to reflect on the plentiful gifts bestowed upon us. I want you to take the time to learn and explore while also remembering to be grateful and respectful of the living flora. Please don’t forget to talk to your plants and ANY plant you see as they love conversation (music too). If you cant hear them talking then keep trying!! Open your heart and mind a tad bit more and try again :-)
No Wave really is the best reference point for this album, which has some great textures. A few songs have some errant white funkiness, just like first gen no wave.
Hidden hand
Grabbing at my sight
Becomes a wash
Sterilize the touch
I’ve had enough
Intention to disappear
Ways that words
Won’t make it clear
That this was a mistake
It was!
Dense enough to become volatile
All the parts that couldn’t make it worthwhile
Fu amore a primo rumore...
[al link]
#lpoftheweek #openhead #laxxvora
Band: Open Head
Titolo: What Is Success
Etichetta: Wharf Cat Records
Durata: LP, 11 tracce, 35 minuti circa
Paese: Kingston, New York
Track List:
Success
Fiends Don’t Lose
Monotones
N.Y. Frills
*INOY
Take It From Me
House
Bullseye
Julo
Palace Quarters
Catacomb
https://open.spotify.com/show/3MkXMNZzzCS1w05WEOSPEd?si=b8667273dc8a4686
Versione Podcast – Spotify
Jared Ashdown (voce…
