With elegant melodies that touch on post-punk and indie rock themes of yesteryear, there’s an instant sense of urgency coupled with poise that greets us at the start of The Cold Head’s new single “Spirit of the Beehive,” the first cut off of their upcoming album Angels in the Attic. It isn’t all instrumental potency; the lyrics in this track have a lot of weight to throw around as well, and they’re undeniably bolstered by a chilly lead vocal from Doug Stephens, who leads this Tim Whelan-produced project.
The influence of retro pop harmonies and Britpop swing is difficult to ignore in “Spirit of the Beehive,” but there’s undisputedly more of a modern tone to the production quality than there is anything old school within the faceting. Multidimensionality is a word thrown around by critics in pop and rock a lot these days, but scarcely is there a single that manages to cultivate two narratives at once – the aesthetical and the poetic – which is something this track does incredibly well. Stephens is in top form here, and this is one of the first provocative alternative listens I’ve stumbled across since the start of 2022.
This hook is definitely on the simple side, but it pulls together the verses rather perfectly considering their sophisticated edge. There’s a lot of contrast between the structure of the lyrics and that of the rhythm, and yet there’s never a moment where the two don’t feel exclusive to one another in “Spirit of the Beehive.” Stephens’ lyrical wit is enigmatic whilst being acerbic enough to sound literate and emotionally driven, which isn’t something I’ve been able to say about a lot of pop songwriters in the past few months.
There’s honest comradery between the players in this performance, and you don’t have to be a professional critic to pick up on the respect they have for each other and the medium. The depth of the instrumental presence in the mix isn’t nearly as critical as the vocal delivery is, and I think that this wouldn’t sound like the same song with a different set of musicians pushing the beat, which is telling of the unique collective sound this group already has.
The Cold Head’s “Spirit of the Beehive” is an undeniably catchy effort that shows off a lot of potential for this band, and if this is giving us a glimpse into what their creative conceptualism might lead to, Angels in the Attic is going to be one of the more intriguing records to drop at the end of this coming March. Echoing traces of 80’s art-punk but sticking to a definitively contemporary framework where it counts, this is the kind of song that’s easy to get into and doesn’t feel particularly indebted to a scene more than it is the emotions of its creators.
That’s becoming an unfortunately rare commodity in 2022, especially in the rock community, but with the insistence that The Cold Head is putting forth in this track, it’s a narrative that could definitely change.
Claire Uebelacker