Heater, God and Hair

Heater , God and Hair [Permanent Records]

By Jason Jackowiak » Despite their ties to cosmic-kraut rockers Cave, Columbia, MO power trio Heater bring a huge sunshine-y racket on God and Hair, their debut outing and as far as we're concerned, one of the pre-eminent noise-pop records released this year. Anyone expecting anything other than shimmering, good-time southern rock 'n' roll from this lot may as well turn around and walk back out the door, because despite the fact that its members share time in heavy hitting kraut/psych-jammers -- Jerusalem, and the Starbaskets, and the aforementioned Cave -- the album revels in the grotty, grungy DIY spirit of '93, mostly to stunning result.

Ramshackle production (provided by Cave's Cooper Crain) only helps to bolster the stuttering guitars and rough-hewn melodies of "Rad Boys", while the sneaky synth lines shot through "Beside Me"'s jaunty guitar rave-ups are oddly redolent of mid-'90s almost-rans Certain Distant Suns. Side one closer "Fire Fight" finds the boys getting a bit arty, as a flail of voices fight to make their way through a sea of chiming guitar murk before a wash of percussion sends the whole thing drifting out to sea. The second side begins with the decidedly Guided by Voices-esque "Dead Byrd", with ZZ McLuckie even approximating his best faux-Brit Pollard sneer. They follow that up with the frenetic three-chord stomp of "Evie Peacock" which they've apparently taken as their chance to blast out some blistering pop-punk, you know, the kind you might have found on Doghouse or Big Wheel Rec back in the day. Despite a few toss-away tracks -- "Stoned Roses" and "Tragedy/Infinity" don't have the crackle or tattered imagination of their counterparts - Heater have unleashed a debut album that bristles with wry energy and enough hooks to fill a tackle box, the kind of album that makes you wish that endless summers were a reality, rather than some far-fetched fairytale.

Posted on September 08, 2010