Choosing to open your debut album with a song that’s over 20 minutes in length means business, and Headless Kross certainly aren’t taking any prisoners when it comes to the droned out, monolithic journey that is ‘Rural Juror’. The occasional psychedelic passage filters in and out; to break up this seeming musical daydream, but that only thickens the fuzz. Glimpses of rasped, crust-tinged vocals intensify things further by transcending the music beyond song format and into that of the feeling that washes over you upon taking that first bong hit.
‘Who Is This Who Is Coming’ quickens the pace a little, although not quite charging into d-beat territory, the drums become more feverish and the vocals take center stage, employing a decidedly more hardcore approach, which is continued on into final track ‘Even The Destroyed Things Have Been Destroyed’. Managing to sweep from drone to psychedelia and then onto crust and hardcore is no small task but Headless Kross execute it with such precision that it seems like the most natural progression in the world.
It’s clear the Glaswegian trio are destined for great things, having followed the same formula as scene favourites Conan and Bast; recording at Skyhammer Studio with Chris Fielding, signing to Black Bow – the foundations have been laid, so it’s only a matter of time before Headless Kross is a name you’re seeing lots more of and, with a record of this calibre, rightly so.
(7.5/10 Angela Davey)
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