Premiere: TV Heads, ‘Total Fucker’ (full EP)

Kevin Bronson on June 23rd, 2016

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TV Heads (Photo by Lauren Cassandra Wade)

Pop quiz. The titular “Total Fucker” of TV Heads’ new EP refers to: a) The 2016 Presidential campaign, b) That friend from high school whom you haven’t seen for 10 years and emails you day-of-show to get on the list, c) The general state of things, or d) The term of endearment that members of the L.A. trio use to address each other.

While there’s a lot of truth in a), b) and c), the correct answer is d). And that also foreshadows what you’re in for sonically when you take on the debut EP from Angelica Tavella, Sean Galloway and Vince Gutierrez — biting alt-rock with a tender heart and exposed nerves. The first single “Chin Up” is an exercise in soft/loud catharsis, climaxing in a vein-bulging chorus. But for uncorking bottled-up angst, the title track is about as close to Radiohead’s “Creep” as you could diagram. And “Flower District” is a meditation on duality of being headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, home to loft- and sidewalk-dwellers. Like “Cool It Down,” it features some perfectly imperfect harmonies from Tavella and Galloway.

TV Heads originated last year as the new venture from Galloway (The Shimmies), Tavella (Nyx) and Gutierrez (Tear It Down, Crook); “Total Fucker” will be released Friday on OIM Records, the new Oakland-based label founded by Tavella, Bay Area concert promoter Sarah Sextion and producer Jeff Saltzman (Department of Eagles, The Killers, Blondie).

||| Stream: “Total Fucker”