Hold Tight: It's All in Your Head

There are rare times within the music world when journalists and fans can see a new talent on the fast track to worldwide attention. Yet when those realizations do hit, they come on with the power of a whirlwind hurricane. Those of us who have ours ears to the ground are sometimes lucky enough to see such a musical revolution take place, and with this new talent today, it's one of those very rare revolutions. In the same way that The Strokes broke the mold and took first the nation, and then the world, by storm, The Head too are gearing up for a takeover the likes of which we haven't seen in a good long while. 

The Head (from right): Jacob Morrell, Jack Shaw, Mike Shaw

Atlanta's newest three-piece pride, The Head, a power-trio comprising Jacob Morrell (lead guitar and backing vocals), and twin brothers Jack Shaw (lead vocals and drums) and Mike Shaw (vocals, bass and keys) are bursting onto the indie-rock scene with a flair and polish that gleam in the spotlight while still retaining their hard-rock heritage. With their first album Puckered and their subsequent EP Stockwood opening the doors, The Head's newest album, their sophomore recording Hold On, is turning all sorts of heads in the music industry, and things are just starting to heat up for these Atlanta rockers. Building off of tracks like "Miles Away" and "There Is an Ocean," songs whose rough-cuts graced their first album, The Head come back with ear-prickling tracks like "Separate Bodies, "I'm Fine with It," "Sneeze," and "Top of the World" to fill the digital bites of their second album with power, melody, and toe-tapping, catchy songwriting prowess.
One of the things I like best about the track "Separate Bodies" is the intro: simple, melodic and catchy, everything that should go into a song with crossover appeal. The intro also gives me a clue as to the influences hidden behind the backdrop: Jacob Morrell's guitar playing is immediately reminiscent of R.E.M. and Sonic Youth. Using palm-muted arpeggios to bring the melody to Jack Shaw's first snare beats, Morrell makes sure that "Separate Bodies" starts right, and just below the palm-mutes, Mike Shaw's basslines add a whole new level of depth to an already talent-filled track. As The Head build forth into the first verse and subsequent chorus, one thing is clear as can be: these guys draw from a multitude of influences to create a sound accessible not only to the hardcore alternative fan, but to the fans of power-pop, indie-rock, and prep-rock as well. As the guitar chords and arpeggios progress into full flares of sonic rainbows, The Head's rhythm section of the Shaw brothers mixes in a little of Vampire Weekend's prep-rock with the R.E.M. and Beatles-influenced melodies cranking out of Morrell's guitar. With a bridge and winding-down that hold melody tightly wrapped in rhythmic heartbeats, The Head's sound is truly that of an Americanized Oasis on Strokes steroids with Beatles polish. A clear choice for the lead-off single from Hold On, "Separate Bodies" is an immediate triumph for the Atlanta trio (and the music video's pretty sick too, see for yourself).   

As the indie-rock boys keep on rolling, "I'm Fine with It" bleeds through the speakers like a Posies-influenced aloe for anything wrong with the world. Perhaps a little lighter and brighter than The Posies (after all "Dream All Day" and anything else from Frosting on the Beater had a bit of a dark edge), The Head shine brightly on "I'm Fine with It," reveling in indie-rocking guitar notes running through forests of cymbal-cracks and bass-bumps. Jack Shaw's vocals are mesmerizing and and melodic, and from behind his kit, one would never know that he's not front and center. Proving that drummers as much as anyone can be lead vocalists, he's joined by brother Mike Shaw, whose vocal talents are no less admirable. With the Shaw brothers taking care of the lead vocals and rhythm section, guitarist Jacob Morrell fills the air with sonic butterflies of the brightest tint, as his "Ah, ah, ah's" lift up the Shaw twins' vocals to even higher plains. Most certainly one of the songs I'm sad to hear end (and more than happy to play again on "Repeat"), "I'm Fine with It" is a homerun for The Head, plain and simple.
If "Separate Bodies" and "I'm Fine with It" aren't enough to sate your indie and pop-rock pleasure, then tracks like "Stockwood," "Sneeze," and "Top of the World" will have you happier than a pyromaniac in a fireworks shop. "Sneeze" brings a Strokes-esque rhythm from the Shaw boys, and married with Morrell's Vampire Weekend-influenced guitar parts, there's nothing more I could ask for. "Stockwood" is perhaps one of the more interesting track on the album: showcasing Mike Shaw's keyboard talents, the track has a decidedly '60s sound, courtesy of Morrell's guitar chords and notes. And right on top sits (literally) Jack Shaw, the drummer with the voice of a born lead singer. Boasting lead vocals from both brothers and fretwork from Morrell, "Stockwood" could quite possibly be the undiscovered jewel on the album. Yet with "Top of the World" providing even more incredible rhythm and melody to the album, I find myself beginning to wonder if there's anything The Head can't handle. I'm inclined to answer "no."
The next level in an intensely growing catalog, Hold On takes everything The Head learned on Puckered and Stockwood and amplifies it 10,000 times. If this is any indication of what these guys are capable of, then the news is out and the future is clear: The Head have the ability to go as far as groups like Oasis and The Strokes did before them. The Shaw brothers and friend Morrell exhibit an astonishing amount of talent for a group so young, yet age is never a factor when true artistic creativity is at play. The album title says it all: hold on, and hold tight, because with The Head behind the wheel, things will never be the same.  
   
Sounds Like: R.E.M., The Beatles, The Posies, Vampire Weekend, Oasis, The Strokes

Key Tracks from Hold On: "Separate Bodies," "I'm Fine with It," "Stockwood," "Sneeze," "Top of the World"

Check out The Head more at: http://theheadmusic.com/ and http://www.facebook.com/theheadrocks  

Riding in the Motorcade

I know I gave you guys something special with Cloé Beaudoin's new EP a few days ago, but I figured why not introduce these guys this week too since I've been listening to them non-stop for about ten days now. To those of you out there reading from Australia and New Zealand, they won't seem as new as I might assume, because from what I've heard and read, they've been on their local rendition of Top of the Pops. That's a name I'm definitely familiar with, being a hardcore Busted fan, so I immediately know what that means. For us here in the States though, and indeed the northern hemisphere, they're fresh and new, and I can't wait to dive right in.
Motorcade are an indie/pop-rock four-piece hailing from Aukland, in the island nation of New Zealand, and as such, are a first here. I've had bands from Australia, Canada, the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, and even Sweden, but New Zealand is a first. Either there aren't as many good artists there (which I highly doubt) or I'm just having a hard time finding them all (which is much more plausible), but whatever the case, Motorcade's sound is premiere for its genre, and a breath of fresh, crisp air in the realm of indie rock. Now things have become overrun with groups like Phoenix, who are just too synthe-looped for my taste, but these guys hit it out of the ballpark with their old-school indie-rock that crosses new-age prep with classic garage grit. Comprising members Eden Mulholland (vocals and guitar), Geordie McCallum (guitar and keys), Scott Sutherland (bass), and Will Mulholland (drums), Motorcade's style is poppy and catchy, with enough of a great rhythm section to give it a real rocking punch. Think Vampire Weekend's prep-polish meets 1990s' garage-pop smirk. And maybe it's just because I'm American, but the accents these guys have only add to the overall indie tone behind the music.
Riding on the success of their acclaimed self-titled and Into the Fall EP's, Motorcade have just recently finished the debut, full-length album effort in the form of Holy Moly. If nothing else this album continues the indie-pop sound that I'm really beginning to love, and that they must have hooked fans of their EP's with. Devoid of the filler and lack-luster tracks that typically surround the one or two good songs on a debut effort, Holy Moly drives from one song to another with a passion and intensity that is fun and quirkily romantic in the best ways.
The title track on Holy Moly is, more than anything, an infectious song. With a fun, dance-around beat and quirky, light-hearted lyrics that make you happy to be alive, Motorcade blast this one out of the park with a single swing. Eden Mulholland's vocals are preppy and funny, and his guitar fits seamlessly with McCallum's notes and keys. The melody in this song would definitely save it if it were drowning, but happily that's not the case. Will Mulholland's drums are a straight kickback (pun intended) to the prep-rock beats of 1990s and Vampire Weekend, and coupled with Sutherland's bass, bring a contagious dance tone to the song. With a chorus that's simple, funny, and almost geekily cute, Motorcade strike solid gold with "Holy Moly." If this isn't the lead single that brings these guys international attention, I'll eat my shoes. Rarely are there songs where everything is right, but this is certainly one of them. Most bands never get close to a breakthrough single, and here Motorcade seem to have invented the idea for it. Brilliant.
Now I don't know if this next track is from Holy Moly too, but if it's not, and I find out that they wrote this for just an EP, I'll just be blown away. "Tightrope Highway" is just fantastic. It's got the driving guitar rhythm and notes provided by Eden Mulholland and McCallum, and on top of that, McCallum's keys augment the melody of the song in the best way possible. Mulholland's voice is high and noteworthy, as Will Mulholland and Sutherland take care of the drums and bass, respectively, providing an indie-pop stage and beat for all the notes and melodies to dance around on in the quirkiest of ways. Like with "Holy Moly," "Tightrope Highway" gets bragging rights for a fantastic music video. In an age where music videos have become sex-centered and shallow, Motorcade show they can still have fun in a geeky way and make indie-pop cool to listen to. Most certainly a five-star track if there ever was one.
"Oldest Trick in the Book" starts with a great melody from McCallum on his keys, and Eden Mulholland's voice is more alternative-rock here, owing to a more hard-rock-inspired drumbeat. Besides the guitar notes and rhythm which make this song cheerful to listen to, one thing that certainly stands out here are Sutherland's bass lines which add a certain edge to the song. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand, thousand times: great bass players make already great bands earth-shattering in their effect, and here Motorcade show just how well it can work. One of the most underrated instruments, the bass gives soul to a song, and in an indie-prep-rock song like this, that only serves to make it better. Aside from outstanding musicianship, though, I must applaud Motorcade for such a great concept of a song. They prove again and again that songs don't need to be complicated and ground-shaking; if they have a funny concept that people can relate to, they'll be successful. I absolutely love what the Mulhollands, McCallum and Sutherland have done here.
I could go on and on about Motorcade. I find myself popping my head to the rhythms and melodies of "Commandeering" and "My Friends" just as much as to "Holy Moly" and "Tightrope Highway." But if I go any farther I know I won't be able to do these guys justice. Soon people will talk about Motorcade in the same breath as Vampire Weekend and Radiohead, and I can't wait to be the one to say, "Told ya so."
A solid four-piece that can pride themselves on great musicianship and a slew of brilliantly crafted songs, Motorcade are now on my radar and won't be leaving for a very long time. If you like anything indie or prep-pop, or are just looking for some feel-good music to listen to in this beautiful autumn weather, Motorcade are your guys. It seems to me right now that no sunny, autumn day would be complete without "Holy Moly" or "Oldest Trick in the Book" playing in the background. Check these guys out, they'll definitely take you for a drive.

Sounds Like: 1990s, Vampire Weekend, Radiohead, Talking Heads

Key Tracks: "Holy Moly," "Tightrope Highway," "Oldest Trick in the Book," "Commandeering"

Check out Motorcade more at: http://www.myspace.com/motocade and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Motocade/11404192852?ref=ts#!/pages/Motocade/11404192852?v=wall&ref=ts