IMAGINATION HEAD

They have a fun take on pop, incorporating male and female voices often in call and response, revealing a lighthearted mood with the occasional guitar crunch juxtaposed with a dreamy synth. And they are all about having a good time. The first time I shared a bill with them, they brought back memories of the first time I heard REM, Pylon and even Modern Lovers. They have a splendid new album called On/Off that they are releasing at the Highland Inn Ballroom this weekend. For fans of the mentioned bands, as well as Oryx and Crake and Venice is Sinking. Get more information on their CD release, visit the facebook invite - Piclafor art gallery

http://www.thevinyldistrict.com/memphis/2011/03/10/song-by-song-review-imagination-heads-onoff/ - Rachel Hurley

Imagination Head Release: 01.29.11
by tracey on 9:21 PM in Featured



Every Sun Has Its Shadow-Imagination Head [00:03:01m]: Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download (265)Atlanta based sextet, Imagination Head, have crafted an inspiringly heartfelt little rock record and they’re prepared to share it’s bounty with you! With obvious Blonde Redhead, Modest Mouse and Beach House influences, just to name a few, ‘On/Off‘ is sure to find it’s way into the hearts of many. For this listener, J.R. Wicker’s vocals are easily comparable to Colin Meloy in all the right ways while sugary harmonies and perfectly crafted strings, keys and rhythm round out this masterpiece. I was fortunate enough to snag a copy a few months ago and it’s fast become one of my top ‘go-to’ records and all before it’s official release!

Imagination Head has slated their ‘coming out party’ of sorts to be held at the Highland Ballroom on January 29th and sharing the stage with them for the night will be Misfortune500 while Lobster Mobster Poetry Collective kicks off the festivities. For your outward proof of exuberance at their big ole soiree, they’re offering up the original oil painting used for the cover of ‘On/Off’ to the best dancer in the house! Can you say ‘collector’s item’? Not only that, but about 5 minutes ago they finished their first batch of homemade t-shirts, so you’ll definitely want to stop by to grab one of those!

Doors open at 8:30pm and the party starts at 9, so get there early enough to grab your copy of their new release and say hi! I’m sure this’ll most definitely be a night to remember for everyone!

- Rock science records

Imagination Head musically sticks to their moniker, with heady concepts and imaginative compositions that teeter between nostalgia and destiny. Any fan of Built to Spill or The Shins, or even Cake, will want to hear Imagination Head. Their indie palette, created by acoustic and electric guitars, keyboard, xylophone, flute and rich vocal harmonies, is at once accessible and unique, weaving a dreamy undertone to peppy melodies or injecting dark country tones to an otherwise buoyant atmosphere. The paradoxes within the music are at once amusing and alluring.

The band’s second full-length album, On/Off, recorded at the Wonderroot studio, is set for release on January 29. Band founder, J.R. Wicker touches on the theme of the album, revealing, “A lot of themes on On/Off circle around my ideas of what the future may resemble if modern life continues on the track it’s on.” He continues by quoting “Tomorrow’s Garden”, “Clones plant plastic flowers in the evening. On a neon screen they scroll and choose their pills. A19 makes their brains think they’re happy. C14 makes their problems seem less real,” explaining that the song “is a literal picturing of tomorrow’s genetically-perfected people at vending machines, hand-picking their choice prescription drugs.” The title of the album, On/Off, refers to the reoccurring imagery, found within the lyrics, of TV-induced brainwashing. Wicker adds, “and the album art is TV-themed, so it made sense.”


Imagination Head was started by J.R. Wicker in Memphis, where a supportive group of musicians helped him find a public outlet for his music. In the beginning, he performed alone, except for a few occasions when his wife would join him singing on stage. Since 2007, the Wickers have moved to Atlanta and have multiplied by three to include Vince (electric guitar), Puma Navaro (drums), Nick Belafonte (bass), and Kara (flute). Wicker continues to man his acoustic, while wifey, Erin, supplies vocal harmonies, keyboard tinkles, and xylophone tinks.

On/Off will be released on January 29 at The Highland Inn Ballroom, where Imagination Head will be joined by supporting acts Misfortune500 and Lobster Mobster Poetry Collective. Wicker admits their live act has changed over time, stating, “In the past, I’d say our shows were more theatrical, more “Back Pockets”-like, but they’ve become more terse, more to the point. However, at the CD release, there will be a human CD dispensing machine. Come to the show to see what that means.”

The human CD dispensing machine fits very neatly within the spectrum of lyrical content on the new record, which cleverly melds the mechanical with the organic. Rock Science has also revealed that the original oil painting that was used for the cover art of On/Off will be awarded to the best dancer on Imagination Head’s radar! Homemade t-shirts will also make their debut, so you have plenty of reasons to head out to the party this Saturday!

- The moon and Pluto

Atlanta has a seeming wealth of young up-and-coming bands and songwriters who are talented and musically adventurous, but many of them offer such precious little output—a short EP here, a quick 7-inch there—that it’s often difficult to gauge whether the praise they’ve garnered is the result of some exceptional artistic gift or merely fortunate accident. After all, the line of local bands that have been able to craft a solid song or two before fading away forever could probably stretch from here to the moon. For a new band starting out inspiration and authenticity are definitely crucial, but if you’re taking the long view, consistency of quality is the key.

And it’s precisely this type of consistency that makes the sophomore full-length from Imagination Head so remarkable. Straddling the line between the Decemberists’ prog-folk and hazy Elephant 6-style psych-pop, On/Off arrives so coherent and complete it’s difficult to believe it’s the work of a group who just a few short weeks ago was scarcely known even here in its hometown. You can credit much of that feeling of completeness to frontman J.R. Wicker who subtly wrings out everything he can from these 14 songs, delivering his smart tongue-in-cheek lyrics so nonchalantly that you almost overlook they’re encased deep in masterful pop surroundings. Despite its diverse instrumentation—an array of guitars, piano, keyboards, xylophone, even a sitar make their appearance here—each note is in just the right place, every passage and transition meticulously sculpted from the taut classic rock riffs on “Shattered Diamond” to the intricate vocal harmonies of “Tomorrow’s Garden” and “Christmas Trees On Fire.” And, yet, there remains throughout a playful sense of spontaneity and a breezy vivacity that keeps the music from coming off as too polished or pretentious. On/Off is an album awash in rich detail, but never do the individual elements distract or take away from the essence of the album as a single unified piece of music.

Had this record been released a dozen years ago, it would have fit quite comfortably alongside works from Neutral Milk Hotel, the Apples in Stereo and Elf Power. But don’t take that to mean it sounds dated. While its dreamy tone errs on the side of sun-baked ’60s AM radio pop psychedelia, there is enough modern guitar rock flourishes on tracks like “TV” and “Every Sun” to prevent the album from succumbing too deeply to any sort of nostalgia worship. Its sound may be vintage, but On/Off will sit next to your Beach House or Fleet Foxes records just fine.

More than anything else, I’m startled by how much of this record sticks with you. Not just individual melodies, but entire sequences of the album will pop into my head when I least expect it. And that, as much as anything else, is the mark of a great album. Imagination Head sounds like a band that know exactly where they’re going, and they’re perfectly content to take the long view.



On/Off Track List:
01. On
02. Violence
03. Shattered Diamond
04. Summer Sky
05. Society
06. Tomorrow’s Garden
07. Directions
08. TV
09. Christmas Trees on Fire
10. Sitar Song
11. Plastic Rain
12. Every Sun
13. You Are Everywhere
14. Customer Sunshine

More Info:
Web: www.imaginationhead.com

- latestdigrace.com

The new year has barely begun, and already I’ve heard so many good, local records with a 2011 release. One of my favourites so far is Imagination Head‘s second full length, On/Off. It doesn’t get a proper release until next week with a show at Highland Inn Saturday, January 29th, but you can pick up a digital copy now. Sonically, the record is folk-based, laid back, and a touch playful, containing dynamic yet focused songwriting. Similarly to bands like Oryx and Crake, Little Tybee, and Akron/Family, Imagination Head takes traditional aesthetics and breathes new life into them resulting in a record that sounds fresh yet classic. Here’s one of its 14 tracks:

- ohmpark.com

Sometimes it helps to know the band bio. That’s certainly the case for Atlanta transplants Imagination Head, who came to life as a solo outlet for frontman J.R. Wicker. Imagination Head is a full-fledged band now, with five other members on a variety of instruments, but there’s still a noticeable singer-songwriter core. It isn’t hard to envision Wicker playing these songs solo with nothing but his voice and an acoustic guitar.

That’s not meant as a slight on the rest of the band, though. The songs on On/Off could be performed solo, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they should be. The band fills out these tracks nicely, often in unexpected ways that give the songs much of their personality. That folk rock core is decked out with airy keyboards, xylophone, male/female harmonies, and electric guitar that has enough grit and heft to keep things from drifting too far into twee territory. They even get away with using a sitar.

While the music stays bright, clean, and clear, the lyrics frequently skew toward the dystopian and paranoid. Wicker sings about tombstones, caskets, and plastic smiles. There are concrete roses growing in the garden and the TV’s giving you cancer. It’s all delivered with such a light touch, though, that even the bleakest lyrics go down cheerfully.

That album title is appropriate. On/Off is a well-executed exercise in contrasts, and evidence of a smart, ambitious band with the ability to flesh out their themes both formally and lyrically.

You can download “Tomorrow’s Garden” below. The full album is available to purchase on iTunes.

- Little Advances