MAGNETIC HEADS – YOU WILL TEAR DOWN EVERYTHING THAT STANDS IN YOUR WAY

Some of the best rock’n’roll is made by frail youths wrestling with 12-string guitars. While the 1980s underground of the popular imagination was about asymmetric haircuts, drum-machines and eyeliner, the reality (locally, at least) was more pointy boots, Rickenbackers and paisley shirts. And eyeliner. Bands like The Triffids and The Church combined the edginess of post-punk with 60’s jingle-jangle and literate song-writing. By accident or design, Magnetic Heads evoke this era with eerie verisimilitude on their extravagantly titled debut EP.   Their sound is textured and warm and a lot of fun. In The Name Of Fame mixes hyperactive surf guitars with Lucy Kaldor’s Farfisa organ and Ed Miller’s deep, wavering vocals.  Blind combines a catchy chorus with the wide-screen romance of Echo  & the Bunnymen.  On the hypnotic What Is It (“Looking at life without eyes…”), the band descend into a weird netherworld, full of underwater brass bands, whip-crack drums, sitars, and droning guitars, Miller’s performance becoming progressively unhinged as he ties himself into semantic knots. This is enjoyable stuff, performed with verve, and a wink, perhaps.
***1/2