“Sometimes I think writing music, or any sort of art form, is like fishing,” says Her Head’s On Fire vocalist, Joseph Grillo. “If you throw your line in the water, you don’t get anything most of the time and sometimes get something.”
Made up of some of the best anglers in ’90s and early aughts post punk and indie scene—the band’s members have been in Garrison, Small Brown Bike, The Bomb, and Saves the Day—the assemblage was bound to hook some … well, hooks. Their sophomore release, Strange Desires, out now via Iodine Records, symbolizes more than a new release, it represents the band’s musical evolution, starting with the gritty, anthemic single, “Why Are We Alone?”
“(Guitarist) Jeff Dean sent it to me and I returned the finished song within twenty minutes,” says Grillo. “Certain songs feel like they’re a conduit for something and that was one of those songs.”
Strange Desires deepens and expands on their first release, College Rock & Clove Cigarettes. A straightforward record, captures the “immediacy and desperation for honesty and closure.” He readily admits, “the music that we make is that nobody is reinventing the wheel. It’s not incredibly groundbreaking as far as structure and formula. The hope is that once you have different voices come together, that the chemistry of those voices sounds unique.”
Grillo adds that most of the songs he writes are “written in the mirror” on a lyrical basis.
“I focus on aspects of myself that I’m either frustrated with or hurdles that I’ve had to overcome. I feel like I’m taking to different facets of myself.”
Through exploring these deep-seated parts of himself, Grillo seeks to connect with others grappling with similar issues.
“In that self-discovery, you can connect with other people because there’s something about your point of view that makes people feel less alone.”
For the band’s first album, they were getting to know each other and their musical tendencies. This new album crystallizes the band’s shared vision, bringing the sounds of heat-seeking post-hardcore, fiery rock, and enlivening melodies together for a purgative ride. Grillo says that the first album “was driven by Dean’s songwriting sensibilities. In a lot of ways, we all felt like we were hitching onto his train, so to speak. The second album is more like we’re all driving the train together.”
Acknowledging that collaboration can be a matter of knowing one another’s tendencies and feeling things out, Grillo is thankful for the other musicians in the band stepping up and to Dean for “knowing when to pull back.”
“I think that’s what makes a good band, that the particular voices involved make the music sound fresh. I think that’s what we’re striving for. I think we achieved that on this record.”
Loud, fun, and cathartic, the album discusses primal feelings and experiences that humanity shares. The album art pushed this idea further.
“For the album art, I wanted it to have an amalgamation of different images from the late ’80s and early ’90s in a dream-like state and depth. We brought that visual to the music video for “Why Are We Alone?” and we’ll bring it to the upcoming video for “Addicts and Habits.”
Overall, Her Head’s On Fire is just fine as they are, and see no need to change their formula. It was cemented in the pedigree they carry into the future. The band has created an emotional and captivating record filled with indie rock that tugs at heartstrings and love of poetic melodies.
Strange Desires is out now and you can order it from Deathwish Inc. Follow Her Head’s On Fire on Facebook and Instagram for future updates.
Photo courtesy of Nathaniel Shannon
