EP Review: Headcase by Dead Energy
Review of Dead Energy’s first EP release
Written by Bennett Campbell
Feel the breeze strike against your face as you peer over the cliffs, the electrifying waves are crashing against the rock, a storm full of thunderous rapture is brewing faster than you anticipated (and/or wanted), an assault of reverb and fuzz begin working its way into your vision, your scared, anxious even, but soon the warm bath that is “Dead Energy” wraps you up in a blanket and says “It’s not so bad,” you seemingly feel better than you did before as their smooth waves of 2012-era psychedelia breathes new life into a genre that can sometimes seem like a one-trick-pony. “Dead Energy” is here to remind you that psych-garage-rock is here to stay, with new form and taste
The Seattle-based Psych rockers “Dead Energy” have been active since 2022, bringing their “Gizz” loving, “Oh Sees” inspired riffage to new form while presenting it unapologetically. I've had the distinct pleasure of seeing this band tear the paint off the walls with their thunderous live-shows and decibel defying screeches that are synonymous with the genre.
Flash-Forward to their newest release, “Headcase” which seems to capture their live sound in a concrete 14 minute package. The opening track “HeadCase” sets the stage for the EP, loud buzzing fills your ears as guitars begin to open a dialogue with each other, ripping waves of audible distortion and definition. “Bad Breath” follows with its ear-worm leaning tendencies that make this track for me a must return. Everytime the members of the band say “wa-ooo” I seemingly begin to repeat back to an empty room and a blank computer screen, yet the feeling remains the same. “Entropy” picks up where the previous one left off, with smooth analog-driven drums and gravelly vocals leaving an underground polish that scratches a certain itch for the listener. Finally, we arrive at the band's epic conclusion and sister track to the previous, “Atrophy” begins. Momentous arrangements that find the band in a new mission to occupy all the space in those headphones. Certainly creating the most space we have seen on the EP thus far.
I found the band did a great deal to keep to its analog root, while maintaining a fresh and polished appeal. Mixing can find some guitars too harsh to hear while burying the other instrumentation, with some dialing back this could create a more rounded image of what they are seeking to create while not compromising their sound. I would love to see the band experiment with their sound, pushing themselves further down the space that is “Dead Energy”
This EP is a must listen for those psych-rock-lovers, indie-music-supporters, and kraut-rock-enthusiasts who love to thrash as much as they love to dance. Go see them live, you won’t regret it