Reviews

Another thrash monster amalgam from folks who leak chaos at every pore. This self-contained mash-up answers that question about the Blood Brothers, the YYY’s, and the Locust walking into a bar and being mugged by a priest and a rabbi. Seven songs of laconic subzero bass tremors, high pitched shrieks, and raped guitars that are over way too fast.  Brilliant destructiveness, a mindfuck of warfare drums, ten minutes of scrapes and bellows about fucking and mustaches and everything else that is right with this world gone wrong.
 
The prolific output of all these amazing musicians complicates the importance of Head Wound City. Sure, it’s great and fun and totally a thrashy maniacal explosion, but you just know that in two months there will be another Locust offshoot, this time with the other Blood Brothers, and that guy who used to be in The Backstreet Boys. Head Wound City is dwarfed by its members other affiliations and relegated to probably obscurity by the fact that they may never extensively tour, may never record again, and the individual members will release  new stuff through other outlets almost immediately.  JP has the new Some Girls out soon, Nick Zinner plays music with just about everyone under the sun, and The Blood Brothers’ Cody and Jordan have legions of BB fans to not disappoint, so HWC may end up just a footnote to some great bands.
 
This recognized impermanence keeps me from recommending this little slab of noise wholeheartedly.  It sounds exactly like it should: like Some Girls minus by American Nightmare, plus partial Locust, mixed with one half Blood Brothers, and then tweaked by guitar tech nerd Nick Zinner.  One thing it does not sound like is Neon Blonde, so anyone expecting Chandeliers in The Savannah part deux - you are hereby warned.  No melodic leads, no dance parts, no new wave hooker fans.
 
Head Wound City sounds great, looks great, and hates you because it already knows these things and doesn’t want or need your approval.  Love it like you would love a butterfly, a snowball, a lightning bolt; carefully and with an ephemeral awareness.