Imagine if X had leaned more heavily towards the blues instead of country. Then you’ll start to get the idea of Thee Headliners—a bluesed-up punk sound straight from a dark basement rockabilly club where you squeeze 50 people into the space made for 25.
The track on Rain & Blood called “(Intermission)” instrumentally rocks along a bluesy country stomp—perhaps most like something thrown in by Camper van Beethoven or the Weisstronauts. While this track strips back the punk layer, it represents the genesis of the basic sound here. Thee Headliners are at their most bluesy on the opener “Howlin’ at the Moon” while they’re ready to jump out of their blues shoes into some black leather combat boots on the shouts of “Sketch City.”
Unfortunately from a marketing perspective, the bloody cover pictures of the band holding hearts as if ripped out in some dark religious ritual proves to be a tough stumbling block to a listener. Expecting something vile or raucous by the picture may turn people away who would otherwise really appreciate the AltCountry blues punk. My advice: ignore the pictures and rock on with Thee Headliners.
