I am late with this review, and it’s an album worth checking out. Before this group’s fifth album came out, I had never heard of this Queens, NY grungegaze project helmed by Robert Preston Collum. Their earlier work has been described as ranging from surf-influenced indie rock to garage rock. Mirrorhead was produced, recorded, engineered, and mixed by Jeremy Scott and mastered by Howie Weinberg. Collum wrote all the songs, sings, and plays guitar, synth, and drums. Additional tracking was provided by Fellow band mates Grady Walker (bass) and Paul Blackwell (guitar) provided additional tracking.
As often happens with noisy, atmospheric music, it can be difficult to describe. The opener ‘Hot Air’ starts off subdued and builds in majesty and volume as the song unfolds. The stoner stomp of ‘Junkie Smile’ reminds me a bit of LA’s Tombstones In Their Eyes, with melodic interludes interspersed between the crests of volume. I recommend headphones for this and other tunes, though you should lower the volume lest your ears bleed. ‘Shame’ is another good song, an early single for the band. ‘Fuck It I Quit’ could be about many things, but the title lends itself to post-pandemic malaise, felt by many. ‘Glitchpile’ has a cool intro with layers of dreamy synth lines, and veers a bit into post rock territory. At :54 seconds long, it is all too brief.
‘Muring Calm’ is perhaps my favorite track here. I like the slower cadence and the guitar work is really fine. It clocks in at over five minutes, but no matter. I playlist songs like this all the time, and this one shoehorns neatly into a dream pop or shoegaze format. Great work all around! ‘Dungeon Head’ is another killer track with fuzzed out sonics that will raise the roof! ‘Stitches_Vicodin’ is deceptively gentle, but it kicks you in the head later in the song. ‘Victim Head’ (there is the word head again) is louder, and the final ‘Feeling Normal’ (is that even possible in these weird times?) builds itself into a Jenga pile of crashing chords several times and is a fitting coda to this release. Recommended for all fans of shoegaze with a grungier edge.
