tempobet yeni adresi
like this cd review

10/12/2016 : SEVERED HEADS - Stretcher

SEVERED HEADS

Stretcher

MusicCD
Electro WaveElectronics

[80/100]   

Medical Records
10/12/2016, Paul PLEDGER

Seattle-based Medical come roaring back with more bittersweet electro-pop from Australia's Severed Heads, this time in the shape of an EP that took on many forms in various territories that included the UK on the Ink Records label. Stretcher was something of a landmark for the band - key member Garry Bradbury had left, leaving Tom Ellard and Stephen Jones to arguably craft their first swipe at a straight-forward pop song. It was also the first time they'd used technology such as MIDI and DX7.

Lead-track Halo itself is far from being just a trifling verse-chorus-verse-chorus slice of bubblegum - it inevitably turns into a mind-mangling electro-disco cacophony of drones, loops and dialogue amidst a metronomic beat - while the other 16 tracks on this superb expanded edition are hardly finger-poppin' jingles either. And if you know your Severed Heads from your OMD, neither are the titles.

Other territories included the odd but superior Petrol, presented in it's original 12" version here, as well as landmark single Dead Eyes Opened, offered in its rarest purest demo form. But it's the flipsides that really lure bystanders in. Picks of the bunch include the glorious stomper New Explosions, a heavier take on album cut Now An Explosive Movie, b-side to the Mae West 12" on Ink, Blast Patter (which sounds like a warm-up for the Big Bigot long-player), the brutal but beautiful offbeat shortie Eel's Blood and the spacey Big Blue Is Back.

It's difficult to fault any of Severed Heads' mid-'80s output - much of this pre-empted the aforementioned triumph Come Visit The Big Bigot - making Stretcher 2016 a must-have. Multi-coloured vinyl available.

This review also appeared on Flipside Reviews

Paul PLEDGER
10/12/2016


Music reviews

09
10
NERO/GRIS
Silenci
07
10
SUBATOMIC STRANGERS
Resuwrecked
01
10
BLOKKONTROLL
I-II-III
28
09
SUNSHINE BLIND
Scarred but Fearless
27
09
DARK MINIMAL PROJECT
Pleasure Is A Sin
26
09
PROMENADE CINEMA
Afterlife

NEWSLETTER

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

NEWS

14
10
43 years of “Wahre Arbeit, Wahrer Lohn” by Die Krupps: A Blueprint for Industrial Resistance
09
10
Baby Turns Blue and 43 today!
03
10
BIMFEST XXIII – 2026 - Full Line-Up Announced!
28
09
De Delvers announces third full-lenght album 'Zwarte Siroop'
27
09
CURSE MACKEY Unveils ‘Imaginary Enemies’, A Darkwave Descent Into Grief & Revelation
25
09
Today, exactly 38 years ago The Klinik released 'Plague'!

Concert reviews

17
08
KRAFTWERK
Royal Palace Open Air - Brussels - August 14 2025
22
04
GAVIN FRIDAY
Live at 404 / De Vooruit - Ghent - 01/04.2025
28
11
BELGIAN ELECTROWAVE IS NOT DEAD 3
Belgian ElectroWave Is Not Dead 3

GET A COPY OF OUR MAGAZINE
SEND TO YOUR HOME

INTERVIEWS

27
09
CORPUS DELICTI
''All is quiet, the motion's cold. I face the wind as I'm taking the road.''
18
09
WHISPERS IN THE SHADOW
This album isn’t about bashing religion and faith. That would be a pretty cheap trick.
17
09
ZWAREMACHINE
We were able to secure the support slot for Front 242. Everything was looking positive until Bas’s cancer reemerged and there were complications.
27
08
BEAUTIFUL FREAKIN' WEIRDO
An Interview With UK Industrial Metal Act, Beautiful Freakin' Weirdo
29
07
EX-VOTO
“Decisions. In a modern time. Transmissions. From the inner mind.“

PHOTOS

21
09
KRUPPS
Kulttempel Oberhausen
12
09
ULTRA SUNN
De Casino St Niklaas
12
09
ULTRA SUNN
De Casino St Niklaas
08
09
AUX ANIMAUX SUPPORT SHE PAST AWAY
Kulttempel Oberhausen
07
09
SHE PAST AWAY
Kulttempel Oberhausen
17
08
NEW MODEL ARMY
Summerkultur Dinslaken
23
07
DUCTAPE
Amphi Festival Keulen

ADVERTISE
IN PEEK-A-BOO

VIDEO CLIPS

17
10
ZANIAS
Unseen (Official Video)
16
10
DOPE
Blood Money
15
10
SOFT CELL
Martin (The Hacker 2025 Remix)
14
10
DARK MINIMAL PROJECT
Schlafen !
13
10
PEAK FLOW
Don't Die In Your Sleep (Remix)
13
10
CRASH COURSE IN SCIENCE
Flying Turns (Live @ BIM 2009)
12
10
COCTEAU TWINS
Hazel