TV Star’s debut album, Music For Heads, sounds exactly like a 1990s psych-rock band trapped in a cozy Pacific Northwest cabin with a stack of old shoegaze tapes. Released via Father/Daughter Records, this long-awaited record hits like a beautiful, jangly brick of musical gold. Born after someone literally pointed at a Butthole Surfers cassette tape on a wall, this five-piece has crafted a collection that is wonderfully human and defiantly un-algorithmic. It is the exact kind of album that makes you want to wear sunglasses indoors, look mysteriously into the distance, and nod your head in a slow, highly sophisticated manner.
The absolute crown jewels of this 10-track collection are the songs that perfectly balance their grit with pure pop melodies. “Reality Cheque” delivers a biting, relatable anthem about willful wastes of time over a driving rhythm section. The earworm chorus chants, “You’re on a roll, You’re on a tear, Blurring the lines that you see,” perfectly capturing the track’s infectious, gritty momentum. Meanwhile, the title track “For Heads” shifts into gear with its propulsive, ass-kickin’ groove, letting the guitars swirl into a dizzying wall of sound while the vocals coolly declare, “Keep it spinning in your mind, Far behind.” Finally, “Strawberry Hero” wraps up the standout trio by leaning fully into a carefree fantasy, offering timeless melodies and a blissful stillness as Ashlyn Nagel sings, “Carefree, no limit for me, Feel free, get on with your spree.”
‘Music For Heads‘ proves that TV Star is not just copying the sounds of the past; they are actively pushing a whole new wave of jangly psych-pop into the future. Ashlyn Nagel’s warm, floating vocals mesh perfectly with the dual-guitar attack of Bryan Coats and Che Hise-Gattone, backed by a rhythm section with one of my favorite musicians right now, Supercrush frontman Mark Palm on bass, and Tucker Devault on drums. Grab a copy of this album on baby blue vinyl, pack your essentials into a TV Star tote bag, and catch them on tour before they outgrow your local dive bar. This is a kick ass record that has that kinda Cranberries/Velocity Girl/Alvvays feel from track to track… so good.
Links of interest:
https://www.instagram.com/tvtvstar/
https://tvstar.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-heads