Head Wound City

Before reading this you may find it of use to listen to the EP being discussed. You can find the whole thing at this link: goo.gl/mjjazg. Enjoy!

Head Wound City (2005)

Head Wound City will leave you a bloody broken heap on the floor. They’ll mug you at knifepoint, leaving you with nothing but your own teeth scattered across the pavement. Born in an era of play it safe ‘indie’ pop rock bands, Head Wound City refuse to play by the rules, they’re a violent, headache-inducing alternative. They’re the kids hanging around on your street corner at midnight, the boys that daddy hopes you never bring home.

The EP presents itself as self-aware look at the place and times they live in, openly mocking the ‘idealistic’ landscapes of California and the grandeur of the people that inhabit it- implying that it’s all a fugazi. Guitars screech like an old dial-up modem, the singer wails his words against a background of barbaric blast beats, all while punctuated by jazzy inflections. Everything goes at its own pace and direction but comes together to create an erratic harmony. Lyrics are mostly made up of enraged absurdity ‘I've got these radical friends broken lips, rainbow violence pink clouds on a razor mountain’ derived from not fitting in with the beach bums and trust fund baby-hipsters of cali ‘So you've aced the prick class: moustache for extra credit. Climbing up to privileged. Pretty sweet. You pleased your parents.’ Couple this with the amount of noise they make and you’re left with a Kafkaesque headache.

Head Wound City are ugly and they want to show you how ugly the world is. So ‘Set sail for the fucked coast’ and let’s go get beat up in Head Wound City.

Harry English.