Stockwood
Atlanta, GA
“Atlanta’s new power-pop powerhouse”
The Head’s latest release, Stockwood, is a terrific triptych that shows there is still altruism and fun in pop music. The record is a canapé till the release of their forthcoming LP due out this spring. The EP’s title track is a benevolent trot that straddles the fence between being anthemic or overdone. While it’s stadium-sized production and infectious hooks are surefire agents of appeal, it eerily echoes Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed.”
“Sneeze,” a rock-pop vessel that explores adversity and optimism, coasts atop danceable guitars and a gliding bass line as drummer/vocalist Jack Shaw declares, “If you’re always looking down then you know you’ve got nothing at all.”
“The Ballad” closes out the record on a very personal, yet warmhearted note. The chorus boasts the big man on campus testament that “this is the ballad to end all ballads,” but the band doesn’t let any bravado mar the track’s pleasantries.
Stockwood is a charming and compact release that captures a maturing band finding comfort in sentimentality and heartfelt songs and, in all its brevity, functions as a power-pop hat trick of delight. (Self-released)
Produced by Don McCollister // Recorded at Southern Tracks, Atlanta, GA // Art direction by Esperanza Atlanta
-Taylor Haag