EP Review: Reflection Room by Headwreck (Self Released)

Brisbane, Australia’s rising alternative metal stars, Headwreck, return with their sophomore EP titled Reflection Room, due out on the 7th of April.

Headwreck paved their way with their eclectic sound and performance as heard on their debut, Glamorise Demise, combining melodic hardcore and electronic influences mixed with well written, pop inspired hooks and lyrical content. Produced, mixed and mastered in-house by guitarist and clean vocalist Jamo Benadie, the Reflection Room EP tells a series of different stories based around human connection, with each song conveying a different situation.

The band’s 2021 EP release, Glamorise Demise, solidified the Brisbane alternative metal outfit as ones to watch while Reflection Room expands on the ideas presented on their, amplifying richer instrumentals, heavier electronics and experimenting with more diversity across both the clean and unclean vocals.

For fans of The Amity Affliction, Northlane and Diamond Construct, Headwreck’s brand new EP Reflection Room is out on Friday April 7th.

Headwreck is Connor Hickman (vocals), Jamo Benadie (guitar/vocals), Colby Horton (drums) and Dayne Paix (bass). The band is a collaborative effort of four likeminded individuals striving to carve their own unique mark in the Australian alternative music community

Reflection Room brings 6 new tracks to the party starting with Shiver. Without knowing an awful lot about Headwreck prior to this, I feel like Shiver does a better job of explaining the band’s style than words will ever do.

Right from the off, the electronic edge shines through with faded clean vocals. That transforms into a crunchy track with punchy drums and riffs and shouted vocals that have menace but not so much that you can’t hear them pretty clearly. The electronic line stays consistent throughout the whole track, acting like the main spine or a foundation for everything else to play off of. The vocals are great, clean and harsh, and there are some interesting ideas with the beat. Occasionally it turns quite chaotic and off kilter which may throw people more comfortable with standardisation but it is interesting and very catchy. A strong way to introduce yourself as a band to those who don’t know you.

Poseidon continues to showcase the experimental side of Headwreck with some challenging ideas that will make some squirm or will excite you thoroughly. The little kids toy like melody or chime that runs through the song adds a pretty dark and sinister edge to the track. There are some really great riffs and the drums are expert level. Vocals are strong, again offering a nice mix of cleans and harshes and a little bit of harmonising. There are some sections of cleans that sound a little bit like they have an effect running under them. I don’t love that but it is a small thing in a song that stands out more for its hypnotic electronica and exciting song structure.

Let It Feel comes at us a bit harder with meaty riffs and a wicked vocal assault. It’s a pit filler, for sure, full of distortion and thumping beats coupled with speed and intensity. Bridges in the track come at you in the form of beats and scratching, a little bit of electronica and melody. I really enjoy the structure again. These songs flow really well and are interesting structurally. There are points when you are in the middle of an effect laden segment where you may feel like you have been transported back to the “glory” days of Nu Metal. Mostly though, its just another energetic and intriguing track with layers of creativity and skill on show.

Fade In comes next on Reflection Room and acts as a musical interlude/extended intro the the penultimate track, Substance. Fade In scares me at first looking like it may be just 90 seconds of electronica but drums and guitars join in and it soon turns into a deeply enjoyable blast of music. It leads directly into Substance which again seems to raise the intensity to new levels with verses that crush in the weight of the riffs, the vocals and emotions on show. They couple nicely with verses that drop the intensity for more emotive electronica and cleans. The contrast between both styles works really well.

We close Reflection Room with Why Won’t You? While it doesn’t offer an awful lot different in style to what has come before, it is still a really good showcase of what Headwreck are capable of. That now familiar crunchy verse full of blasting drums and riffs slides into a cleaner section where the background electronic sounds jump to the forefront and cleans take over. I’m a big fan of the harsh vocals backing the cleans too. The song fades out to a gentle electronic beat which seems apt and closes out a fresh and exciting release.

Headwreck are clearly drenched in talent and creativity and it shines through on Reflection Room. Overuse of electronica can be a real turn off for my personal taste but I think Headwreck have the balance just about right. It’s there, it does drive the songs forwards but is part of the picture, not dominating it. On Reflection Room, the tracks are also balanced nicely with a few that delve more into technical creativity and a couple that show Headwreck can do intense aggression just fine too. That variety keeps the whole EP sounding fresh and exciting throughout. With this array of talent at their disposal, Headwreck are clearly a band going places and one to keep your eye on.

Make sure you check out Reflection Room on your chosen streaming platform when it drops on April the 7th.

Headwreck Links

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