All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t prepare Bellhead for the snarky puns and what-not that people-who-think-they’re-clever came up with when they first unveiled their latest EP Threats. I being amongst those people. Despite the numerous silent chuckles I had making headlines or potential headlines for the EP announcement I have to hand it to the post-punk duo as they’ve delivered what I consider to be one of the most refreshing releases within the genre I’ve heard in quite some time.
Of course there’s the genre formalities they have to stick with but Bellhead finds themselves in their own realm rather than falling in the post-punk trap of lazy production and mumble-singing. What we have here is a recipe that showcases actual talent from members Karen Righeimer and Ivan Russia.
The title track kicks off the album and it’s a smooth, feel-good sounding jam with juxtaposing growling vocals courtesy of Ivan Russia with a decent but gloomy rock chorus. Heart Shaped Hole gives us a memorable bassline with a lovely kick and dual vocals, screechy guitars. It’s a general song that could easily plague a goth dancefloor and have some of those lovely folk up till the peak of dawn.
Shutters + Stutters strips it back for some twangy bass guitar and minimal but effective drum work which gets amplified about halfway through with energetic guitar work and almost spoken word vocals. No Dead Horses comes off as something that could be used in a Gothic western thanks to the crows cawing and the spooky and crawling rhythm. Double Jeopardy is the final canon song and it’s an odd piece that continues the doom and gloom yet has time for brighter notes that are like a beam of sunlight in a fog cloud.
There are two remixes attached to the EP by Stabbing Westward and Clubdrugs. Upon first listen of Stabbing Westward’s remix I said to myself, “This sucks.” And I’ll say or type it again: This sucks. I don’t know what’s going on here other than it sounds like someone watched the Mortal Kombat movie and thought they could replicate that soundtrack and attempted to do just that but forgot was production was and created a bastardized clone that should have never seen the light of day. But here we are.
Clubdrugs’ take on Heart Shaped Hole is much more acceptable. They inject slow and dragging electronics into the rhythm as if notes are reversed and emphasize the spooky tone of Bellhead. Something that would fit well in a horror synth score or something cinematic to that effect.
Despite my unfavorable opinion of Stabbing Westward’s remix I hardly ever consider remixes into the majority of the song unless they make up a large section of the release or if it’s something akin to a remix EP or maxi-single. Which this is not.
So my overall opinion of Bellhead’s EP is that it is something that I’ll be putting on my personal playlists. It’s fun, spooky, gets away from tropes, and is rather refreshing in the post-punk scene that’s filled with so many clones.
