Head Wound City - A New Wave of Violence

Pitchfork 69

Conservative regimes have always provided a boon for punk rock. The Reagan and Thatcher years famously birthed hardcore as we know it; more recently, George W. Bush’s two terms spurred on a generation of bands that expanded the boundaries of post-hardcore, screamo and grindcore. With right-wing demagoguery making headlines and xenophobia on the rise around the globe, another musical backlash could be just around the corner. That might be the idea behind the reunion of Head Wound City, a supergroup whose lineup includes some of the Bush era's most forward-thinking punk musicians: Jordan Blilie and Cody Votolato of the Blood Brothers, Justin Pearson and Gabe Serbian of the Locust and the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Nick Zinner. Up until now, the band’s only formal output was a 10-minute EP written and recorded in the span of a week in 2005. Following some reunion shows in 2014, Head Wound City have now produced A New Wave of Violence, their fittingly-titled full-length debut.

More so than in the past, Blilie and Votolato seem to take the lead on A New Wave of Violence--these songs all bear a close resemblance to the Blood Brothers’ work circa Burn Piano Island, Burn. Of course, Johnny Whitney’s high-pitched squeal and glam affectations are dearly missed, but many of that band’s other signature elements are here: Blilie's dark humor and throat-shredding screams, the pummeling rhythms, songs that barrel forward with a punishing intensity. Votolato, as always, manages to make an impressive racket, with guitars that alternately crash down in waves of fuzz, roar like a jet engine and buzz like a cloud of hornets.

As with Piano Island, Ross Robinson returns to the boards, lending his skilled hand to the proceedings--few producers can capture the live energy of hardcore bands with the sort of fidelity that Robinson does. The upgrade is immediately apparent; where the Head Wound City EP’s sound was defined by DIY muddiness, A New Wave of Violence brings each element in the mix into sharp focus, even as the overall effect is one of crushing heaviness. These songs are felt as much as they’re heard, with every riff, scream and drum hit practically leaping out of the speakers.

Opener “Old Age Takes Too Long” provides a representative sample: a steady march of floor toms, chugging, palm-muted guitars that give way to thunderous choruses and an almost Misfits-like sing-along refrain of “Whoaaa-ohhhh.” “Born to Burn” and “Palace of Love and Hate” are scorched earth campaigns that sprint through multiple verses and choruses in under two minutes (only three of the ten songs here extend beyond the three-minute mark). Longer tracks like “I Cast a Shadow for You,”“Avalanche in Heaven” and “Love is Best” recall some of the Blood Brothers’ best-loved songs–multi-part miniature epics like “Cecilia and the Silhouette Saloon” and “Camouflage, Camouflage”—but in keeping with Head Wound City’s proclivity for brevity, are much more tightly scripted.

If you’re looking for a hardcore record that fires on all cylinders, you won’t be disappointed by A New Wave of Violence: here you’ll find a set of skilled players tearing through 25 minutes of music with relentless energy. That said, the latest incarnation of Head Wound City does feel both more straightforward and less ambitious than nearly all of these musicians’ previous projects. You’ll find few of the Locust’s loopy synth lines or breakneck tempos; Zinner seems content to let his guitar follow rather than lead and in the absence of Whitney, it’s hard not to hear Blilie as vaudevillian straight man in search of a foil. That’s only by way of comparison to the band members’ past work, though and Head Wound City is clearly a vehicle for these guys to let their hair down and play some explosive music free of any expectations. Judged on its own merits, A New Wave of Violence is a fine hardcore record, one that manages to balance chaotic intensity with a workmanlike precision that few punk bands can muster.