Head With Wings: Without Intervention

Although they have released quite a lot of music since their inception in 2009, Without Intervention is only the second full length release from US progressive outfit Head With Wings. With this being my first encounter with them across that time, what they’ve crafted in the intervening years I’m not 100% certain, but it would be fair to suggest that this latest outburst from the band sounds as current as you could hope for. Pulling snippets that take you to places as wide and varied as Tesseract, MollyBaron, Tool and the likes of Porcupine Tree or maybe even Haken, the contradiction of incredibly deft technical drumming, choppy time changes, glorious choruses, layered vocals and hooks leaves you at first confused, then impressed and finally appreciative. In fact I’d say that it wasn’t until maybe my fifth or sixth listen that I moved beyond actively getting to know the likes of “Comfort In Illusion� and began to feel the song simply live and breath. Here the drumming from Mike Short is tight, explosive and dextrous and yet I’d suggest this is one of the songs where this multi-limbed chap is more restrained. The space he leaves is filled by vocals from Joshua Corum which verge into the realms of alt-rock at times and may, for some, prove a stumbling block. However, he’s a great fit to my ears.

The band is rounded out by the forceful but distinctly enigmatic guitar work of Brandon Cousino, although bass was handled on this album by Connor Oyster, while a certain Vikram Shankar produced the whole shebang, ensuring that Without Intervention sounds rather fabulous. Running to around the 35 minute mark, this release doesn’t outstay its welcome but even within those tight confines, two of the eight tracks are minute long instrumentals that intentionally reset the scene. It’s a clever way of wiping things down after some of the more forceful moments and while neither “Remnant� or “26 Bell Chimes� stick in the mind they do play a clever part in spacing and pacing the album as a whole. It’s an aspect that allows the attack and retreat of “Three Months� to find more room for itself to grow, while the album opening “The Dream Broker� almost encapsulates the breadth of ground traversed here as it surges from full throttle riff-totting outbursts to string laden, hook imbedded catchiness. From there Head With Wings never really put a foot wrong, leaving Without Intervention as something that followers of the current new progressive scene should be checking out, but be sure to allow it time to show its true colours.

Track Listing
1. The Dream Broker
2. Task of Breathing
3. Remnant
4. Galaxy
5. Comfort in Illusion
6. 26 Bell Chimes
7. Three Months
8. Absolute Zero

Added: March 14th 2024
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Head With Wings @ bandcamp
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Language: english

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