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MH-259 Head Like A Kite - There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere  There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere, Head Like A Kite’s second full-length album, and first for Mush, is an expert blend of electronic rock production and pure pop-songcraft built on a bed of pillaged found-sound from cities the band visited on their 2006 US tour. No stranger to sharing the stage with big names on national and international turf, ringmaster Dave Einmo has assembled some of Seattle’s finest for the album including members of The Long Winters, Smoosh, Radio 4, Crooked Fingers, and Preston School Of Industry. Whether it be guest vocals from Asya Smoosh and Graig Markel, added inspiration from touring drummer Trent Moorman, or the production of Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine) each track is flavored with the perfect additions to the epic songwriting and big-beat electronic production that is Head Like A Kite’s forte. There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere strikes the balance between art and craft and is the finest sonic road-trip in the Mush catalog. |
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| Reviews Summary |
| Quite possibly the best release out of the Northwest this year - KEXP / A true genre-twisted party album that appropriately captures the sounds of an eclectic America - Urb / The dreamy soundtrack to your imaginary trip into space - The Stranger / It deserves a lot of indie play - Pop Matters / Laughter’s friskiness is refreshing - AP |
| Seattle's Head Like A Kite combine electronic wizardry and alterna-rock to sound like a cross between the best elements of nine inch nails and Rise Robots Rise. There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere (Mush) could sound like every other electronic hybrid that's out there, but fortunately it doesn't, and outside of the great sounds they're able to create, they have songs that hold up beyond the audio surfaces heard. In truth, Head Like A Kite is less of a "they" and more of a "he", in this case Dave Einmo, who utilizes a wide range of collaborators in the studio and onstage (not unlike Trent Reznor) to create these sonic hurricanes. I always hated when someone would say "I wish there was electronic music with balls", but it's to say that they enjoy the limitless creativity of electronic-based music but wish it had the grit of guitars, and that can be heard throughout the entire album. "Daydream Vacation"'s feminine presence could easily bring Head Like A Kite to a wider audience as it's perfect for massive radio airplay or television placement, while the twisted musical chops of "Six Bags Of Confetti" (going back and forth between modern rock and nice electronic bursts of funk) will challenge anyone who thinks they can just nod their head eternally in a repetitive manner. The title track would easily become a nice down-tempo or hip-hop track in the right hands, almost in the vein of RJD2 or Nobody, while "Keano's Couch" takes the vocoder back and makes robot rock rise again. Head Like A Kite cannot be pinned down after hearing one, three, or even five songs, and the fact that the music goes everywhere shows me that Einmo is willing to do a lot of exploring, and I hope he continues moving in any and all directions, including those that are unknown. - The Run-Off Groove |
