Wedged between two fine outings, their sophomore effort 12th House Rock fits awkwardly, an anomaly drifted off a fine trajectory. Narrow Head embark on another bash of Grunge revival, shedding the shades of Groove and Nu Metal that perhaps steered them to greatness. With groans and gristle they lean into the textural oddities adjacent to the 90s scene. Reveling in hazy guitar overdrive and other fuzzy distortion effects, both guitars and vocals get a variety of tweaks over a thirteen track course.
On review, this aesthetic dwell is an unsurprising focal point. With their vocal hooks and guitar riffs lacking a spark heard before and after, many songs fall flat on arrival. It leaves ones attention attuned to its many off kilter flaws. On a handful of songs this textural rebellion is its main character, leaving a bitter taste as much fails to resonate.
The potential success of a lacking originality simmers. This revivalist pursuit wears its influences like wounds on occasion, cutting bold and obvious, jarring when a lack of gravitas persists. Hard To Swallow thumps hard, reeking of Helmet syncopation yet Night Tryst sparkles bright, despite utilizing a blatant Smashing Pumpkins blueprint.
For all its nostalgic tint, when components don't quite click, whats left is an infuriating fumble of forms. Enjoyable but barely engrossing, the ideas sought after became more audible than the music itself. Narrow Head didn't sell me on this, thus falling short on many fronts. Not awful but I couldn't get pasts the rotating cast of 90s pitfalls.
Rating: 5/10