Melbourne’s HEXHAM HEADS offer a fresh take on a classic power pop sound, delivered with heart and soul in all its ragged glory, a heady brew of jangle, fuzz, harmonies and guitar-monies!
Having bonded over a love of loud guitars and hooky pop melodies, Melbourne music stalwarts Van Walker (Swedish Magazines/Livingstone Daisies) & Mic Hubbard (Ella Hooper/Spencer P. Jones) began making demos in the winter of 2024, soon enlisting the talents of friends Brett ‘Wolfie’ Wolfenden (The Pictures/The Casanovas/Wolfmother) on drums and George Carroll Wilson (Pollyman/Bones and Jones) on bass guitar to join in the proceedings, and in one short, action-packed session recorded the four tracks that make up their debut, self-titled EP.
A small but spicy taste of things to come, the EP a testament to the love of garage rock and power pop, enlivened with soulful powerful performances, successfully marrying the jangle of a 12 string with the snarl of a Marshall amplifier. It’s hooks-a-plenty, guitars galore, and an homage to loud, sweaty fun.
First single ‘Say It Again’ – an absolute ear worm with “more hooks than a tackle box!” says Will Ewing, Brunswick Ballroom – is a joyous fizz of guitars, harmonies and relentless rock that introduces a band on a determinedly positive note of love and celebration.
“Simply expressing love might be the most powerful weapon we have against all the fear mongering and desperate power grabbing plunder going on today,” says lead singer and songwriter Van Walker. “Turn it up. Let people know you love them. SAY IT AGAIN!”
Second single is the greasy 50’s punk rocker ‘I Can’t Live Without You’. Being lovelorn has never sounded so exuberant! Fans of the Ramones or the girl groups of the 60’s will dig this catchy little rocker, as will fans of bowling from the hilarious film clip.
Side 2 explodes with the jangle stomp of ‘Let Me Go’, a tongue-in cheek kiss-off to a soon-to-be-ex, written by Walker and guitarist Mic Hubbard. The bells are tolling and heads be rolling as the band storm through this frank farewell.
The last track on the EP is a much gentler number, simply entitled ‘Music’, a sweet ode to our favourite of all the arts, replete with band harmonies that showcase the depth of the band that can harmonise as hard as they rock.
mere four songs but for a debut release this EP is a wild ride of myriad musical colours that promise much more to come from a band who defy easy categorisation but offer straight up soul music without pretence.
“The art of songwriting for me has always been an attempt to cut to the heart of the matter, much like sculpture, carving away the unnecessary. The hardest thing is to be simple. And even harder is to be happy. But the world needs more joy and harmony. I hope Hexham Heads is a group that gets people singing together, if nothing else.” Van Walker
Join the band to celebrate the EP’s release at their Melbourne March residency – at Shotkickers (744 High St. Thornbury):
Wed 19th March w/ Wesley Fuller
Wed 26th March w/ The Rayes!
Thanks to everybody who’s getting round this EP, media and radio for spinning it and a big thanks to Cheersquad Records & Tapes for putting it out!
Tracks 1,2 and 4 written by @ramblinvanwalker
Track 3 by @ramblinvanwalker & @mickytheshrimp
Recorded by @mickytheshrimp
Mastered by Michael Carpenter @thehousestudiomc
The Self-Titled Debut EP is available digitally and on
limited edition hot pink 7″ vinyl (75 only), & black 7″ vinyl.
Order your vinyl on Bandcamp:
https://hexhamheads1.bandcamp.com/album/hexham-heads