The Heads - Reverberations 2 Album Review

By Ian Smith

A live album recorded at the Thelka on the 6th of December 2001. This performance was part of the ‘The Gnostic Bash: A Tribute to Kenneth Anger’. Anger intended to make a film of Aleister Crowley’s Gnostic Mass and was looking to raise funds for the project.
 
This is really something. There are two tracks in total but that’s not important. The sound is overwhelming, loosely structured and freeform but nothing is wasted. The key word here is energy. This is a relentless assault on the senses; you can focus on the mayhem ensuing or drift off to your own world.

The Heads manage to create a soundscape where time is irrelevant. I could happily listen to these pieces if they were twice as long. Some acts have the ability to make time stand still and it’s good to know that there is still material to pillage from The Heads archive. Like Hawkwind on mandrax, the barrage of riffs is a joy to behold.
 
Subtlety. Allow the listener to form their own picture and pick out their own nuances to concentrate on. It’s in your face but standoffish. There are numerous Heads bootlegs and live performances available but this seems to encapsulate everything rather nicely (although I confess that I have not heard all of it, far from it). And I got through the whole review without mentioning ‘Psych’. Ah fuck.
 
You set the scene. Journeys without maps.
 
‘Reverberations Volume 2’ is out now on the ever-wonderful Cardinal Fuzz. Listen/Buy at  
https://cful.bandcamp.com/album/the-heads-reverberations-volume-2