REVIEW: The Cold Head — Spirit of the Beehive (SINGLE)
It’s an interesting era in post-punk revivalism, and of the recent dispatches to come to my attention, The Cold Head’s “Spirit of the Beehive” is one of the gentlest singles of its kind. Although it’s a rhythm-forward composition, “Spirit of the Beehive” isn’t lacking in melodic ribbonry by any measurement; contrarily, I think it’s probably one of the more harmonious efforts to drop from an alternative rock outfit in a while. The Cold Head is fresh on my radar, but they’re presenting with a level of focus that demands respect from listeners no matter what their taste in music is.
While not designed to be the most provocative element here, there’s enough pick-up in the rhythm to make it an agent of evocation equally as strong as the lyrics are. The Cold Head isn’t trying to be surreal, but it’s difficult to make something both simplistic and layered without implementing a bit of postmodernity, which is why the relationship between the beat and the verses feels as cerebral as it does in “Spirit of the Beehive.” I haven’t heard the other songs on Angels in the Attic, the band’s new album, but this has the framing of an identity single.
The tempo never boxes in the vocal, but instead gives our singer a little bit of room to be flexible at the microphone, which has been a bit of an issue among some of the other British indie tracks that I’ve been listening to this year. There’s certainly enough pressure on the backend to give the beat more oomph than most vocalists would know what to do with, but Doug Stephens is unflappable in his role as frontman here. The confidence is something to be respected, and ironically enough it’s not even the most stirring component of his performance.
These harmonies aren’t just slick — they’re downright stylish, and I love how they borrow just a touch of aesthetical brilliance from old-fashioned pop/rock while still sounding like a direct descendent of something The Beatles would have recorded. It’s all about attitude in this instance, and luckily for everyone listening to this song, The Cold Head knows what they’re doing and, even more importantly in my opinion, what kind of a sound they’re trying to develop in the studio. There’s no uncertainty here; just immersive songcraft at its absolute finest, sparing us the burden of plasticity in every department that matters.
I just got turned on to this colorful new song, but it possesses a certain inviting tone that has been getting harder and harder to find in mainstream alternative music lately, which makes me wonder just how big an impact it could have on The Cold Head’s blossoming career together. There’s still a lot to uncover with this band and their continuity as a group, but if this ambitiousness we’re hearing in “Spirit of the Beehive” is giving us an indication of what is still to come, this is going to be a very seminal moment in their time under the spotlight.
Colin Jordan
