Head Of The Herd

The most recent in our pile of B.C. review CDs is Little India’s self-titled EP.

It’s a good sample of a band drawing from the recent past (elements of this record are reminiscent of British pop in the mid-’80s) to create something new and cheerily melodic even if the singing sometimes is plaintive.

A song such as All You Know recalls something by Tears for Fears, for example, but, if Little India wants to rule the world, it has a good starting place.

— Mother Paradise is a five-song EP by Anders Eriksson that manages to be two things at once — a mainstream rock that recalls the ’80s and is still contemporary — sort of classic rock ahead of its time. Big and bold.

— Another EP — three songs this time — is The Hindenburg Affair by the John Pippus Band. Pippus has essayed his version of the blues before, but this EP recorded live at the Hindenburg indicates a slight change of direction to a laid-back, Bob Dylanish and countrified blues. Shows a band gelling.

— Jeff Younger’s Devil Loops Volume Two offers guitar improvisations augmented by electronics. Minimalist textures but plenty of ambience.

— Wett Stilettos describes itself as punk rock but, like a lot of modern punk, it has a bit of heavy metal in it. It also distinguishes itself by being mixed gender and that lends a different interpretation of songs such as Crotch Detonator or Douche Bag, to point out the obvious. Like any good punk, there is something liberating in this stuff.

— Eleven09 might have the first ode to silverfish on their Love Somebody. This song is in competition with Evolver as the most wistful on a weird album. Retro R&B such as Gimme Some Attention is followed by the light latin-jazz styling of Boy Crazy. Sweetly upbeat, Love Somebody is all over the place.

— Tuesdays, the Railway Club is trying something different — Rockaoke 101. This is karaoke but instead of prerecordings of current pop the willing participants are backed by a rock band, The Naturals. The nervous get help and coaching by Dr. Goulet.

— Head Of The Herd releases its third album, Birds on the Roof, Sept. 27. Leadoff single is Live for Love.

The suddenly prolific mister Blake has another new song, The Promise. It combines his great sense of melody with dance floor pop and is a brief precursor to the album Coming Home. He and Patti Dahlquist will be at Richmond’s Summer Market Concert on Aug. 15.

— The sole West Coast act at the PNE this summer is the New Pornographers, Aug. 28.

— Destroyer has his Poison Season album out Aug. 25.

— Poet Shane Koyczan and band come forward with Debris, Sept. 23.

— Transplanted singer Jill Barber (from Toronto to Vancouver) has been chosen to record her versions of When My Baby Smiles at Me and Vive en Amor for CBC Covered Classics, a partnership between CBC Radio One and the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame.

— Annihilator’s 15th LP (yikes!), Suicide Society, is due Sept. 18, once again guided by guitarist Jeff Waters. - The Province

Artist of the Week: Head of the Herd

AUGUST 10, 2015 BY JESSICA BRODEUR IN ARTIST OF THE WEEK
After a year off from playing shows in Vancouver, and from doing much else other than slaving away over a brand new record, Head of the Herd are back in town and headlining the Red Truck Brewery Parking Lot Concert Series this weekend. They've had their share of jetsetting after recording Birds on the Roof in the middle of the countryside in Wales, in Georgia, and at home. More than just a the music, the record is interwoven with memories, strange stories and challenges.

"We did the drums in Wales," Neu Mannnas explained to me over the phone. "We had this guy we were working with. We did 5 songs with Ian Davenport. We had the drum set from OK Computer, so I was like 'I want to use these!' The studio is in the middle of the countryside in Wales, they had the goddamn piano that Bohemian Rhapsody was recorded on. You just walked into the room and that piano had a presence. But right outside there were Welsh cows walking around."

There's definitely something about being far away from home that heightens the senses and makes every day a surreal experience. Mannas elaborated, "We were in the middle nowhere. No distractions. You're in the moment. You just wouldn't approach things the same way at home." The trekking around and chasing down producers paid off, in Manna's opinion. "We didn't do what was easy or cheap - we did expensive and difficult. So many bands get caught in the grans system... figure out what you want to do first, and make that. Beg, borrow, steal, light fires! We were so committed that we would do whatever it took to get it right."

If you're a fan of the band or just want to have a good time, come on down on Saturday to Red Truck. Don't expect the HOTH of past albums though, or you'll be dissappointed. "We went out of our way to make this sound different - shake it up," tells Mannas. Besides the pre-order, very few people have actually heard the music. "We kept it under tight wraps because we wanted people to hear it how we wanted them to hear it," elaborates Mannas. If a beautiful Saturday outdoor festival in an East van parking lot with lots of fresh beer is how the band wanted fans to hear the music, then they picked the right event.

Birds on the Roof is available on iTunes or you can wait for the in-store release on September 25. Check out the debut single, "Live for Love", on Soundcloub.

Tickets for the Red Truck Parking Lot Concert Series are available here for $35. - 3AM Revelations