Album Name: Sick Moon
Artist: False Heads
Released: September 2022
Label: Scruff of the Neck Records
Rating: 8/10
Tracklist
Day Glow
Mime the End
Thousand Cuts
Thick Skin
Cottonmouth
Hangman
Said and Done
Slipping Through
Haunted Houses
Doll's Eye
Earlier this year alt grunge trio False Heads released their second album 'Sick Moon'. False Heads formed back in 2016 and since then have gained attention from industry professionals and earned a respectable following. The Essex based group have had praise from multiple renowned radio stations such as, BBC 6 Music, Radio X, BBC Radio 1 and internationally, KINK, Sirius XM and RTE2. Not only have they had radio attention, but False Heads also gained over a million streams on their single 'Rabbit Hole' on Spotify alone, and their last album 'It's All There But You're Dreaming' received over four million streams across all platforms. The bands most recent album 'Sick Moon' was produced by Frank Turner at his home studio and the ten-track has already gained a decent number of streams since its release in September.
"The album is just a pure expression of everything I've felt and feel. It's pure rage, isolation, and alienation, yet also sarcastic and hopefully sprinkled with a bit of humour." - (Luke Griffiths, Guitar & Vocals)
'Sick Moon' opens with the upbeat, cheery feeling guitar of 'Day Glow'. This is an infectious track that sets the pace for the rest of the album. If you like this one, you'll also enjoy what else is to come. A lot of the songs within 'Sick Moon' have this upbeat modern alt rock energy to them and the typical sort of British rock sound. The second song on 'Sick Moon', 'Mime the End' again has very catchy guitars and I personally really enjoyed the bass that carries through this one. The beat set by the drums had me unable to stop bopping my head along. Another song on 'Sick Moon' that I found to be very catchy was 'Thick Skin'. This one doesn't feel as grungy as the others on this ten-track and really has this modern alt rock sound to it that I could imagine filling a venue as people dance along to the beat. Songs such as 'Cottonmouth' seem a little more grungy or even punk like at times. The track which is about the "constant conflict of giving into your nihilism or fighting it". is loud and makes you want to listen. Jumping back a bit I want to talk about one of my favourite songs on 'Sick Moon', 'Thousand Cuts'. This is the third song on the album and starts off a little more chilled out with this really nice guitar piece before picking up into something that very quickly had me headbanging along. This is another on 'Sick Moon' that could easily get stuck in your head. I really like the way the song rises and falls in aggression as it goes along, delivering softer and heavier moments. My other favourite track from 'Sick Moon' has to be 'Haunted Houses'. This one is possibly the most upbeat almost summery feeling one on here. I know I've mentioned how about every track on here is catchy and could get stuck in your head but that is especially true for this song. I've been listening to this one for a couple of weeks now and I honestly can't get bored of it. I haven't mentioned every track on 'Sick Moon' as I feel I could say a lot of the same things about them. For me these are all really good, enjoyable, alt rock tracks. There's nothing not to like in 'Sick Moon'. The songs may be kind of similar with their vibe but that works. From the get-go you know what to expect and can just enjoy the ten-tracks with no bad surprises. I've personally been enjoying False Heads music since I heard their single 'Rabbit Hole' (released 2020) earlier this year and have been loving what I'm hearing ever since. These guys are worth checking out and 'Sick Moon' is a really enjoyable listen.
Listen to 'Sick Moon' HERE
False Heads are
Luke Griffiths: Guitar & Vocals Jake Elliot: Bass Barney Nash: Drums
False Heads online
