I’d never heard of Head North before their EP, ‘Scrapbook Minds’, landed in my inbox. However I’m glad it did, as it’s a great five-track piece of melodic pop-punk and one of the most refreshing things I’ve heard so far this year. Head North are incredibly similar in sound to bands like Jack’s Mannequin or The American Scene, focusing on lyrics over the more bouncy side of pop-punk that tends to be the norm.
‘Scrapbook Minds’ features some wonderful song writing; opener ‘Doubts and Deadlines’ contains some brilliantly emotive lyrics and great gang vocals, which offer something a little different to the track. Pared-back offering ‘Brooklyn’s Burning’ shows that vocalist Brent Martone has not only a great voice, but also an unusual delivery that causes you to wholly focus on the lyrics. My personal favourite is single ‘Tremors’, which is incredibly catchy and a more typical pop-punk offering in style, made interesting by lengthy, emotive lyrics which read more like a diary entry than a song.
There’s a few recording hitches which stop this album from being perfect; the volume varies wildly from track to track which can be frustrating. ‘Brooklyn’s Burning’ is practically inaudible, while ‘Tremors’ is deafeningly loud. This annoyance ruined the overall listening experience for me, due to having to constantly edit the sound levels which is a real shame.
Regardless of this, ‘Scrapbook Minds’ is a promising EP, showcasing some real song writing talent, catchy riffs and unique vocal delivery which really separate Head North from the pack. Definitely a band to watch out for.
4/5
‘Scrapbook Minds’ by Head North is released on the 18th February.
Head North links: Bandcamp|Facebook|Twitter
Words by Jay Sullivan.
