East Midlands band Head Cloud offer up a deliciously heavy yet mellow grunge-gaze sound that draws on elements of 90s grunge, shoegaze and post-hardcore, which they describe as “dynamic, intense and atmospheric.”
The Grantham quartet formed in 2021 but had known each other for years, having played in various bands around the local scenes in Nottingham and Lincoln. But they came together through a shared passion for music to blend their influences into something, in their words, “fresh and relatable.” Over the last couple of years, they’ve crafted a sound that fuses heavy riffs and moments of intensity contrasted by mellow shoegazey reflection and engaging vocals.
Our latest taste of this is the Head Cloud’s debut EP Hard To Exist, which was released at the end of last month, from which they sent us the final track Reflections. It opens up with piercing electronic noises and big drums that continue as heavy guitars kick in. That gives way to a repeating riff, which sets up a atmospheric verse of high-pitched guitars and drawn-out guitars supporting engaging vocals. It flows into a heavy chorus of clean vocals answered by more intense retorts, then high-pitched guitars bridge back into a verse. A second chorus drops into descending chords, the pace drops with lone light guitars and light drums come in before a fun shoegazey section of guitars and echoey vocals bring the track to a powerful conclusion.
On the track, frontman Danny Charles told us: “The reception has been incredible, especially with the addition of the music video. We’ve been playing the track live for a while now, and it’s always a crowd favourite, so it’s been amazing to finally release it and share it with a wider audience. For those who haven’t heard it yet, Reflections showcases our approach to songwriting, with strong dynamics and energy, particularly in the build-up towards the end.” Check it out in the video here:
There’s plenty more grungey, shoegazey goodness on the new EP, starting with its opening track Dare I Say. It opens up with lively guitars and drums that continue under a little lick and drop into a laid-back verse. The pace picks up moving into an engaging chorus supported by a delicate lick and heavy guitars, and dropping back into a dreamy verse. A second chorus gives way to a cool heavy riff ending with piercing guitars bringing the track to a heavy conclusion.
The EP continues to deliver with title track Hard To Exist, which opens up with a fun answer-and-response of heavy chords and high notes. It drops into laid-back lyrics supported by light guitars and a busy bassline before an engaging chorus. Heavier guitars and a piercing lick kick in and drop back into a laid-back verse and it comes to their customary heavy ending.
That’s followed by I Feel Bad, wich opens up with a thick bassline and rolling drums. A chunky guitar riff builds into a deliciously heavy smash of fuzzy guitars, which are joined by a high-pitched lick and drop into a dreamy verse of echoey vocals. It suddenly explodes into a heavy chorus “I feel bad, That I was out the way, I feel sad, That everyone feels the same, I know that it’s you that controls my world, Real friends could never take that away.” A second verse falls into a bumbling bass before chugging guitars and a wild, meandering high-pitched guitar that set up a final blast of the chorus.
On the EP as a whole, Danny said: “We’ve been playing some of these songs live for a while, so it feels great to finally release them officially. The EP features four tracks that reflect a year’s worth of refining and crafting, giving our own unique twist to the grunge-gaze genre.”
The EP follows on from a series of singles over the last couple of years, including their excellent debut tracks Fade and Smile or Disguise and most recent release All On You. Head Cloud sound is influenced by a wide range of bands and genres, largely through all the band members being fans of hardcore in some form. And Danny explains: “A huge part of bringing this sound to life was working with Jonny Price, who recorded and helped produce our EP. He instantly understood what we were going for, and since we were already fans of his work with bands like Mirrortalk and TNL VZN, it was the perfect collaboration to help us shape the EP’s sound.”
And on what inspires them to write music, Danny added: “Our sound draws heavily from 90s grunge, shoegaze, and early post-hardcore, creating something distinctive for fans of bands like Superheaven, Hum, Soul Blind, Split Chain and Soundgarden. We aim to blend these influences into something fresh and relatable. We usually start by building the music first, with some ideas for vocal melodies already in mind. The lyrics and themes then come from the emotions the track evokes. Many of our songs touch on introspective themes, like dealing with loss or mental health struggles, reflecting our personal experiences and emotions.”
We’re loving the sound of Head Cloud’s debut EP, and there’s plenty more to come from this exciting new band. They’re hoping to play more live shows through 2025 as, in Danny’s words, “it’s our favorite part of being in a band, and we can’t wait to get back out there.” The band is always working on new material and plans to get back into the studio later this year, with plans to also do a live studio session. They’ll also be dropping new merch shortly, including a limited run of cassettes for the EP.
You can follow Head Cloud on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
Listen to Head Cloud and more new British bands on our Spotify playlist GigRadar New Band of the Week
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