The debut album from two piece alternative indie outfit I am the Unicorn Head feels like a blissful haze that envelopes you with a wildly different experience from each individual piece. The overarching psychedelic ethos is quite clear from track to track, but there’s a stark difference in the tempo of each piece that also comes through the seemingly disconnected backbone that sees the duo go genre-hopping from track to track. A grittiness in the production makes the tracks all sound slightly unfinished and raw, giving it that distinctive garage rock energy.
Opening with the titular track, you feel drawn into a supple ballad that exudes nostalgic energy through its soft yet resplendent arrangement. But, then when the track ends and ‘Omnipresent’ enters, the tempo is dialled up to a hundred. Here, there’s a much more pronounced rock and roll energy, an almost classic punk rock feel. The defiant ‘I am omnipresent’ has you head banging along through and through. On BFF, the tempo is turned back down into a more mellow and psychedelic arrangement that completely sooths you. The vocal harmony over here is perhaps the best across the record, with the mellifluous verse matching the wonderful falsetto on the chorus.
It’s really the diversity on this record that has me most amazed. The dark yet fascinating arrangement on David Bowie is perhaps my favourite piece on the entire song. ‘I go from station to station like David Bowie on cocaine, I’m out of my brain’ might be one of the more ridiculous yet poignantly sung chorus lines I’ve come across all year. The entire song feels like an acid trip, an irresistible melody with a luscious arrangement and pronounced vocals. The more industrial and ominous ‘I Fear God (is leaving tonight) closes you off on an unsettling yet intriguing note to remember as well.
A remarkably experimental alternative rock record that has droves of innovation and buckets of melody to offer. The album is only available on the group’s website and social media profiles so check it out there now!