Dead Head is far from Adam Payne's first spin around the block. As the frontman of Residual Echoes, he's crafted folk-rock drenched in acid and hung out to drip-dry in the California sun for almost seven years. But there's something about Dead Head that-- despite being Payne's ninth official release-- feels like a debut record.
It could be that this is the first solidified lineup of the band's history (drummer Allen Bleyle and bassist Greg Arnold make up the rhythm section); it could be that this record sounds far more polished than the rough, almost demo-like quality of past albums; but it's mostly because Dead Head has a greater sense of purpose than anything previously bearing the Residual Echoes name. After folky intro "Warts", the album goes into warp speed for the rest of its 38-minute run, with incinerating guitar solos shooting sparks all over the place.
More than two-thirds of "Chopper" is filled with this blistering six-string work, taking exploratory detours and tossing in a couple of seconds of stark silence before the blistering climax, recalling the nimble (and outrageously loud) fretwork of J Mascis. In fact, about six of the album's nine tracks adhere to this same template: fast tempo, exploratory guitar solo, hell, they're almost all written in the same key. The solos are always interesting, even bordering on remarkable, but the songs suffer from a lack of more diverse songwriting. The album's highlight, "Fugks", slows down the tempo and builds around a gorgeously laidback quasi-surf riff before settling into Neil Young-inspired songwriting. Sadly, it's one of the album's rare diversions into stylistic variety.
Essentially, Dead Head actually does play like Residual Echoes' debut release; everything is urgent and high-stakes, but it sounds more like the work of a young band settling into a sound, rather than a seasoned band knowing what works and using it as a springboard to see what else they can do.
