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Album review: Thee Headshrinkers – ‘Head Cheese’

By Alex Goose
Thee Headshrinkers band

Raw, frantic and oozing petrol guzzling charm, a riff-tastic debut record of abrasive garage energy!

Chaotic. That’s the word that comes to mind when reading about – and listening to – Thee Headshrinkers, and trust us, it’s a good thing. Immaculate order and perfection are all very well if it’s some epic prog-jazz odyssey that you’re constructing, but ‘Head Cheese’ is (thankfully) pretty much the polar opposite – a roughly half-hour long blast of gloriously ramshackle garage punk that was apparently recorded in just three days, and takes no prisoners.

Thee Headshrinkers
Thee Headshrinkers

Based around the East Sussex/Kent area, the trio all originally met online and got straight to work on trying to emulate The Jesus And Mary Chain, dealing with the occasional hostile crowd and practice room police raid along the way. Things don’t generally seem to go to plan for these guys, but credit to them – they’ve persevered, and this debut album has turned out far more interesting and compelling than mere Reid brothers worship. 

They cite the Sex Pistols, The Fall and fellow Sussex noisemakers The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster as their main influences, and indeed, there are echoes of all three bands in the confrontational attitude and stripped-back sound of ‘Head Cheese’. In particular, the Eighties Matchbox guys would surely feel pangs of envy at the trio’s ear for a great twangy surf guitar riff; this record is absolutely overflowing with them. Coupled with a beat guaranteed to get you moving, and vocalist Rob’s semi-spoken style, it’s a simple enough recipe, but my goodness, is it effective.

Thee Headshrinkers by Jorge Dos Santos
Thee Headshrinkers live - photo by Jorge Dos Santos

The quality control never dips here, but second track ‘Dallas Texas’, with its squalling guitars and snappy “San Francisco, where the kids go” refrain is an early highlight. Elsewhere, ‘Motorbike’ – an ode to driving fast with your lights off – belts along at a relentless pace, and if the ska rhythms of new single ‘Sunday Driver’ (yep, there’s a definite speed fixation going on here) don’t get you at least nodding your head in approval, you really should check your own pulse.

Most of the tracks clock in around the three-minute mark, but just when you think you have these guys figured out, ‘Going Down’ surprises you. Whilst his bandmates unleash a first-rate garage rock racket (are they trying to destroy the guitars by the end of the song?), Rob relates tales of past resentments and hard times in a kind of deranged mantra; the end result has already burrowed its way into our subconscious. Hey, it’s welcome to stay.

Given their chaotic (yep, there it is again!) history as a band and their reputedly ferocious live performances, you might well wonder whether Thee Headshrinkers will still be together by this time next year – and that’s all part of the fun. For now, they’ve made one hell of an opening statement with ‘Head Cheese’, and you’d be well advised to pause compiling your 2024 ‘best of…’ lists whilst you wrap your ears around it.

Out on November 29th on Hastings label, Property Of The Lost records. Order your copy on CD and translucent red vinyl HERE

Thee Headshrinkers - Head Cheese album

Catch Thee Headshrinkers live on the following dates:

Sat 30th Nov – Tough Love instore, St Lenoards, UK – album launch show!
Sun 1st Dec – Smugglers instore, Deal, UK
Sat 14th Dec – The Anchor, Wingham, UK (Garage / Psychobilly all dayer)

  1. Johnny
  2. Dallas Texas
  3. Motorbike
  4. Derivative
  5. Save Your Life
  6. Going Down
  7. Sunday Driver
  8. The King Is Dead
  9. Mutha Fucka With A Chainsaw
  10. Head On
  11. Sweet Caroline
  12. Travelin Man
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