TUESDAY OCT 25, 2022
Narrow Head
“Nobody has riffs anymore,” says founding member/vocalist/guitarist Jacob Duarte when asked about his approach on 12th House Rock, Narrow Head’s highly anticipated LP for Run for Cover due on August 28. “That’s the kind of band we are and to me, that’s just how you write songs. Drums, bass, guitar, vocals. Nothing else. There are no other instruments on the record.”
The Houston-based band’s latest entry is the distillation of the greatest moments in 90’s alternative and hard rock with a fresh set of ears, thirteen tracks of their signature brand of bludgeoning lullabies bursting at the seams with creative ideas, new directions and yes, massive, monolithic riffs. In between the sparkle and smash, open-hearted and emotionally naked songwriting showcases a core piece of the band’s identity– showcasing 12th House Rock as one of the best releases of 2020. “It’s the definitive work of Narrow Head,” proudly explains bassist Ryan Chavez. “Recorded in a studio over a month’s span, the way they used to do it. Not just for the sake of making it that way, but because it was the right way for us.”
Delving into deep-seated themes of self loathing, desolation, self-medication, the loss of loved ones and hopeful redemption,12th House Rock is, as the title suggests, a rock-focused LP themed on transition– exploring the vast abyss of darkness just before the sun cracks upon the horizon. “A lot of the record was made in the late hours and early morning,” recalls Duarte. ”Those quiet moments alone when utter silence and my self-medication made it impossible to escape from my own thoughts. It was also from a specific time when I didn’t take care of myself and made bad decisions in all aspects of my life. These songs were a way out, temporarily anyway.”
Duarte references specific songs on the record as touchstones within that dark period. “’Emmadazey’ and ‘Hard to Swallow’ were inspired by pharmaceuticals and when the people around you know that you’re making bad decisions but are afraid to tell you,” he reveals. “’Crankcase. is about staying up for days at a time, not eating and chain smoking.” Guitarist William Menjivar is also quick to add that “’Ponderosa’ is about big life choices and the empty feelings of ‘What if?’ thinking about whether or not your decision was the right one. In the end it doesn’t matter because you can never take it back.” Yet while all the songs follow explore the darkness, Menjivar adds emphatically that 12th House Rock “does have moments of optimism and sentimentality, so it’s not a completely dark record. Nostalgia is also something we want people to feel when they listen to this.”
Rising from the Texas underground scene, Narrow Head formed in 2013 but became fully realized as a band in Houston with the release of their 2016 debut LP Satisfaction and the lineup of Duarte, Menjivar and drummer Carson Wilcox. Playing in the Texas scene instilled a can-do attitude, an ability to explore several different ideas along with a strong set of DIY ethics, qualities that still form the basis of the band to this day. “Book your own shows, book your own tours,” details Duarte about the foundation of his musical viewpoint. ”I think that having other musical projects provided a scene for us to play too. Nobody else was looking at us, so we had to make our own scene.”
The band’s second and highly-anticipated LP 12th House Rock was self-produced and born of close to a hundred takes with no click track, vocal correction, drum samples or quantizing, resulting in thirteen testaments to pulverizing pop clocking in above 50 minutes. Initially only Duarte, Menjivar and Wilcox in 2018, the trio of old friends entered the studio with a batch of songs intending to write bass parts on the fly. “I have known Jacob and Carson since childhood and they are the most talented musicians– total prodigies,” states Menjivar. The three looked to build an LP that reflected current tastes as well as “music [they] looked up to as kids,” according to Menjivar, adding their own twist on the entirety of it.
Though the primary trio was present throughout the entire cycle, fate would intervene on bass as the undeniable chemistry between the band and then strictly producer Ryan Chavez led to his inclusion in Narrow Head. “Once we got in the studio and started recording demos for the album, I got along with them well and felt full of ideas on how to play bass for certain tracks,” explains Chavez. The newly minted four piece would handle the bulk of the remainder of the LP, bringing in Erica Miller of Big Bite/Casual Hex, vocalist/lyricist on “Delano Door,” and mastering guru Sarah Register to put the final touches on the record. Guitarist Kora Puckett (Bugg, ex-Sheer Mag), who previously logged hours as a live member in the tours preceding the LP, would join Narrow Head as a full-fledged member following the LP’s completion.
Using distorted guitars as their primary vehicle, Narrow Head’s wall of riffs add stark contrast to their best quality– deceptively sweet pop melodies that channel the lessons of My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins, Helmet, Deftones and Guided by Voices all at once. “Distortion provides a harmonic sound that feels like static texture,” details Duarte. “It feels smooth while being loud and noisy at the same time. But some of our favorite bands don’t use distortion– all music inspires us. Loud rock is only the first part of our formula– this record is our take on music we like from the last 20 years.”
Yet despite whatever comparisons that can be made to guitar tone, mood, songwriting, timbre or virtually anything else, Narrow Head are quick to credit their native Houston, TX as the primary source for it all. “Houston is the greatest city on earth,” says Duarte emphatically. “People who know, know. In Houston, you have to give people a reason to pay attention to you.” With 12th House Rock, not only will Narrow Head have Houston’s attention, but the entire rock world as well.
“Nobody has riffs anymore,” says founding member/vocalist/guitarist Jacob Duarte when asked about his approach on 12th House Rock, Narrow Head’s highly anticipated LP for Run for Cover due on August 28. “That’s the kind of band we are and to me, that’s just how you write songs. Drums, bass, guitar, vocals. Nothing else. There are no other instruments on the record.”
The Houston-based band’s latest entry is the distillation of the greatest moments in 90’s alternative and hard rock with a fresh set of ears, thirteen tracks of their signature brand of bludgeoning lullabies bursting at the seams with creative ideas, new directions and yes, massive, monolithic riffs. In between the sparkle and smash, open-hearted and emotionally naked songwriting showcases a core piece of the band’s identity– showcasing 12th House Rock as one of the best releases of 2020. “It’s the definitive work of Narrow Head,” proudly explains bassist Ryan Chavez. “Recorded in a studio over a month’s span, the way they used to do it. Not just for the sake of making it that way, but because it was the right way for us.”
Delving into deep-seated themes of self loathing, desolation, self-medication, the loss of loved ones and hopeful redemption,12th House Rock is, as the title suggests, a rock-focused LP themed on transition– exploring the vast abyss of darkness just before the sun cracks upon the horizon. “A lot of the record was made in the late hours and early morning,” recalls Duarte. ”Those quiet moments alone when utter silence and my self-medication made it impossible to escape from my own thoughts. It was also from a specific time when I didn’t take care of myself and made bad decisions in all aspects of my life. These songs were a way out, temporarily anyway.”
Duarte references specific songs on the record as touchstones within that dark period. “’Emmadazey’ and ‘Hard to Swallow’ were inspired by pharmaceuticals and when the people around you know that you’re making bad decisions but are afraid to tell you,” he reveals. “’Crankcase. is about staying up for days at a time, not eating and chain smoking.” Guitarist William Menjivar is also quick to add that “’Ponderosa’ is about big life choices and the empty feelings of ‘What if?’ thinking about whether or not your decision was the right one. In the end it doesn’t matter because you can never take it back.” Yet while all the songs follow explore the darkness, Menjivar adds emphatically that 12th House Rock “does have moments of optimism and sentimentality, so it’s not a completely dark record. Nostalgia is also something we want people to feel when they listen to this.”
Rising from the Texas underground scene, Narrow Head formed in 2013 but became fully realized as a band in Houston with the release of their 2016 debut LP Satisfaction and the lineup of Duarte, Menjivar and drummer Carson Wilcox. Playing in the Texas scene instilled a can-do attitude, an ability to explore several different ideas along with a strong set of DIY ethics, qualities that still form the basis of the band to this day. “Book your own shows, book your own tours,” details Duarte about the foundation of his musical viewpoint. ”I think that having other musical projects provided a scene for us to play too. Nobody else was looking at us, so we had to make our own scene.”
The band’s second and highly-anticipated LP 12th House Rock was self-produced and born of close to a hundred takes with no click track, vocal correction, drum samples or quantizing, resulting in thirteen testaments to pulverizing pop clocking in above 50 minutes. Initially only Duarte, Menjivar and Wilcox in 2018, the trio of old friends entered the studio with a batch of songs intending to write bass parts on the fly. “I have known Jacob and Carson since childhood and they are the most talented musicians– total prodigies,” states Menjivar. The three looked to build an LP that reflected current tastes as well as “music [they] looked up to as kids,” according to Menjivar, adding their own twist on the entirety of it.
Though the primary trio was present throughout the entire cycle, fate would intervene on bass as the undeniable chemistry between the band and then strictly producer Ryan Chavez led to his inclusion in Narrow Head. “Once we got in the studio and started recording demos for the album, I got along with them well and felt full of ideas on how to play bass for certain tracks,” explains Chavez. The newly minted four piece would handle the bulk of the remainder of the LP, bringing in Erica Miller of Big Bite/Casual Hex, vocalist/lyricist on “Delano Door,” and mastering guru Sarah Register to put the final touches on the record. Guitarist Kora Puckett (Bugg, ex-Sheer Mag), who previously logged hours as a live member in the tours preceding the LP, would join Narrow Head as a full-fledged member following the LP’s completion.
Using distorted guitars as their primary vehicle, Narrow Head’s wall of riffs add stark contrast to their best quality– deceptively sweet pop melodies that channel the lessons of My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins, Helmet, Deftones and Guided by Voices all at once. “Distortion provides a harmonic sound that feels like static texture,” details Duarte. “It feels smooth while being loud and noisy at the same time. But some of our favorite bands don’t use distortion– all music inspires us. Loud rock is only the first part of our formula– this record is our take on music we like from the last 20 years.”
Yet despite whatever comparisons that can be made to guitar tone, mood, songwriting, timbre or virtually anything else, Narrow Head are quick to credit their native Houston, TX as the primary source for it all. “Houston is the greatest city on earth,” says Duarte emphatically. “People who know, know. In Houston, you have to give people a reason to pay attention to you.” With 12th House Rock, not only will Narrow Head have Houston’s attention, but the entire rock world as well.
Temple of Angels
Temple of Angels’ debut full-length, Endless Pursuit, is a towering and stunning album of gothic beauty that heralds the proper arrival of one of the most dazzling bands performing right now. Shaped by the ghosts of the past and the wonder of the present, the release is dream pop at its most striking, using the haze and beauty of the genre not to blur songs til they are impenetrable in every sense, but rather to capture the fleeting wonder of new love and emphasize the confusion and disorientation of loss.
Formed in 2017 in Austin, Texas, Avery Burton (guitar/vocals), Patrick Todd (drums/vocals), and Cole Tucker (guitar) had all played in various hardcore and punk bands around town for years, but were keen to explore the dreamier, moodier music they enjoyed as well. After recording a few demos, they recruited Bre Morell (vocals) to be their lead singer. The new group self-releasing two EPs–2017’s Temple of Angels and 2018’s Foiled–and a single on Funeral Party Records in 2019, and were soon performing with the likes of Beach Fossils, Iceage, Narrow Head, and Turnover as well as at festivals like Levitation and Not Dead Yet.
Now Temple of Angels have arrived with Endless Pursuit. Recorded with Colin Knight (Death Bells, Fury, Leisure World) and Phillip Odom (Ceremony, Militarie Gun, Portrayal of Guilt), and then mastered by Will Yip (Turnover, Citizen, Title Fight), the album sounds so fully formed and assured that it belies the difficult circumstances that inspired it. While Temple of Angels started working on Endless Pursuit in 2020, the pandemic and Morell’s move to Los Angeles meant that the band wouldn’t start recording it until late 2021. In that in-between, separated from friends and partner, Morell began to fully process the loss of her mother in 2017. “I started having extremely vivid nightmares reliving certain experiences with my mom that started to take over my life, trapping me in that trauma,” Morell explains. These dreams, filled with “the constant feeling that something or someone so essential to you is missing, home doesn’t feel like home anymore, and something about this world just feels off now” would form the central core of Endless Pursuit. A sense of unease can be heard in the eerie lumber of the title track that opens the record, all shimmering, spider-like guitar lines and Morell’s hushed vocals swirling together. Or the way Morell’s voice reaches a pained, aching wail in the finale of “Lost in Darkness”, capturing the sense of person or moment that is truly lost forever.
Yet Endless Pursuit isn’t just sorrow and anguish. Moments of joy and comfort are also present throughout the album. “Sometimes a beautiful dream will sneak in past the nightmares, which inspire a lot of my writing as well, specifically these dreams I had as a teenager that took place in a past or future life in some kind of parallel universe,” Morell confesses. “I’ve been thinking about those dreams for 16+ years and they still consume me.” A song like “Tangled In Joy” is the band at their brightest and catchiest, an avalanche of jangling guitar chords and Morell’s vocals at their sweetest, swelling and cascading over each other. The band aimed to limit the effects they used on Endless Pursuit in order to further step away from being labeled shoegaze, and the result is an album that’s bolder and sharper–more willing to step out of the shadows.
It’s fitting that Endless Pursuit ends with “(For You) I’d Lose It All,” a track that’s as grandiose and gigantic as The Chameleons at their peak and possibly Temple of Angels’ most anthemic song to date. With Todd taking center stage on vocals, out pours a tale of desire so intense it consumes every part of your being, matched by a thunderous rhythm section, and amplified into the heavens by soaring keyboards in the chorus. It feels almost defiant; a refusal to ignore something wonderful even if it may just end in more sorrow.
Temple of Angels’ debut full-length, Endless Pursuit, is a towering and stunning album of gothic beauty that heralds the proper arrival of one of the most dazzling bands performing right now. Shaped by the ghosts of the past and the wonder of the present, the release is dream pop at its most striking, using the haze and beauty of the genre not to blur songs til they are impenetrable in every sense, but rather to capture the fleeting wonder of new love and emphasize the confusion and disorientation of loss.
Formed in 2017 in Austin, Texas, Avery Burton (guitar/vocals), Patrick Todd (drums/vocals), and Cole Tucker (guitar) had all played in various hardcore and punk bands around town for years, but were keen to explore the dreamier, moodier music they enjoyed as well. After recording a few demos, they recruited Bre Morell (vocals) to be their lead singer. The new group self-releasing two EPs–2017’s Temple of Angels and 2018’s Foiled–and a single on Funeral Party Records in 2019, and were soon performing with the likes of Beach Fossils, Iceage, Narrow Head, and Turnover as well as at festivals like Levitation and Not Dead Yet.
Now Temple of Angels have arrived with Endless Pursuit. Recorded with Colin Knight (Death Bells, Fury, Leisure World) and Phillip Odom (Ceremony, Militarie Gun, Portrayal of Guilt), and then mastered by Will Yip (Turnover, Citizen, Title Fight), the album sounds so fully formed and assured that it belies the difficult circumstances that inspired it. While Temple of Angels started working on Endless Pursuit in 2020, the pandemic and Morell’s move to Los Angeles meant that the band wouldn’t start recording it until late 2021. In that in-between, separated from friends and partner, Morell began to fully process the loss of her mother in 2017. “I started having extremely vivid nightmares reliving certain experiences with my mom that started to take over my life, trapping me in that trauma,” Morell explains. These dreams, filled with “the constant feeling that something or someone so essential to you is missing, home doesn’t feel like home anymore, and something about this world just feels off now” would form the central core of Endless Pursuit. A sense of unease can be heard in the eerie lumber of the title track that opens the record, all shimmering, spider-like guitar lines and Morell’s hushed vocals swirling together. Or the way Morell’s voice reaches a pained, aching wail in the finale of “Lost in Darkness”, capturing the sense of person or moment that is truly lost forever.
Yet Endless Pursuit isn’t just sorrow and anguish. Moments of joy and comfort are also present throughout the album. “Sometimes a beautiful dream will sneak in past the nightmares, which inspire a lot of my writing as well, specifically these dreams I had as a teenager that took place in a past or future life in some kind of parallel universe,” Morell confesses. “I’ve been thinking about those dreams for 16+ years and they still consume me.” A song like “Tangled In Joy” is the band at their brightest and catchiest, an avalanche of jangling guitar chords and Morell’s vocals at their sweetest, swelling and cascading over each other. The band aimed to limit the effects they used on Endless Pursuit in order to further step away from being labeled shoegaze, and the result is an album that’s bolder and sharper–more willing to step out of the shadows.
It’s fitting that Endless Pursuit ends with “(For You) I’d Lose It All,” a track that’s as grandiose and gigantic as The Chameleons at their peak and possibly Temple of Angels’ most anthemic song to date. With Todd taking center stage on vocals, out pours a tale of desire so intense it consumes every part of your being, matched by a thunderous rhythm section, and amplified into the heavens by soaring keyboards in the chorus. It feels almost defiant; a refusal to ignore something wonderful even if it may just end in more sorrow.