Tiny Forehead is a post-punk band hailing from the town of Boston in the United Kingdom. They are an original five piece who have been compared to Joy Division, The Fall, and Osees. With their manic style and surferish guitar-bass-drum combo, I’d also liken them The Cramps.
Their three song EP, Problems with Living, was released in 2022 and is available on Spotify. The first song, “It’s a Lie” begins with a killer bassline played by Dr. Krollspell, providing the perfect setup for the emergent lilt and echoes of singer Simon Barnabas. It’s a lie, he warns us, again and again and as the tempo gradually slows, he pleads:
Just give me something to live for
Or give me something to die for
But please don’t give me any more
Of your lies
The band rallies against government encroachment on the poetic track “Mandrake”, warning:
I’m the one you see / Hiding in the wings
Mandrake – breaking up our happy home
Mandrake- going where we cannot go
The funky, psychedelic trip of “Black Fax” is where The Cramps comparison emerges – surf guitar tones and echoes lurk from every corner:
You took my world
And gave me yours
“I Always Knew” is the latest (released) single from the band, and it’s an exercise in paradoxes – sounding simultaneously juvenile and sophisticated, both punk and polished. In this rumination, we have a man both defeated but also maniacally resigned to his current fate:
You don’t have to make me understand
You don’t have to make me cry
You don’t have to hold my hand
Explain the rational reasons why
With its unique sound and unpredictable drum work by Steve Thomson, this is my favorite track that is currently available on Spotify.
I also had the opportunity to listen to a few soon-to-be-released demos. There are currently a few band changes with the addition of Rob Padlock on guitar, George Whitelaw on rhythm guitar, and Shan Henry on backing vocals.
“Six Miles Under the Sea”, with its unrelenting transitions, seems to dovetail between The Clash and The Grateful Dead. If a song were an identity crisis, this is what it would sound like – in the best possible way. Barnabas is delightfully sinister as he asks would you like and declares kill me in Greggs!
The alliterative “Castle Corset” is the standout demo of this bunch. From the stripped down, searing guitar into to the luring cadence of Barabas’ commanding:
My sensible house where nothing stirs
Except the humdrum of years
That were denied by reasons far
Far too tame to count as war
There is an anger bubbling below the surface and just as you think it will boil over, enter Henry’s utterly gorgeous vocals to soften the blow. This song sounds fresh and familiar, as though (to borrow their words) ‘I’m in some kind of dream.’
Tiny Forehead is currently enjoying a bi-monthly residency at The Eagle Pub in Boston. You can catch their next performance there on Saturday, the 29th of July.
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