~by Gabe McBride
86
When Puro Instinct, then called Pearl Harbor, released last year’s Something About the Chapparals EP, the band was more famous for their back-story (the two Kaplan girls, Skylar, a teen and, Piper, in her early twenties decided to play some music together, and wound up forming a band) than their actual tunes, which were surf tinged California-mellow jams (think Real Estate). Something… had some interesting moments, but was really more a diversion than a statement; it was pleasant to listen to, but it was a case of there just not being much there there.
For their full-length debut, the Kaplan sisters brought in Ariel Pink to produce, and his fingerprints are all over the record, to the point where it could even be considered Before Today part two. Headbangers songs, proper are interrupted every few tracks by canned radio announcements that sound like they bouncing back to Earth from another galaxy, distorted and eerie, which gives the sense of listening to an AM music broadcast late at night. The album’s first song, ‘Everybody’s Sick’ is the weakest here, with a generic, tossed off melody that doesn’t go anywhere quick, and thin, tinny instrumentation. Despite this momentary hiccup, Headbangers in Ecstasy is fantastic. While last year’s EP had interesting ideas, not fully formed, the LP takes the band’s best asset, atmosphere, and punches it up, adding samples, electro flourishes, funky bass lines, saxophone, and left-field fretwork to make a hazy, disco/dream-pop hybrid that sounds otherworldly and familiar at the same time. Where Ariel Pink’s sound is grounded in sleazy glam and lo-fi scuzz, Puro Instinct bring to mind Stevie Nicks and Carl Sagan. The music takes unexpected twists and turns throughout, the melodies are both airy and have heft, too, and repeated listens reveal unexpected and new surprises. It makes Headbangers in Ecstasy a surprisingly mature piece of work.
For Fans of: Aisler's Set, Fleetwood Mac
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