Tuesday, August 29, 2017

IMSC Ep 50 - Song 3: "Mona Lisa Overdrive" by Head Candy (plus the video of their unreleased song, "Thunderbolt Raft")



"A straight-up rock band with touches of 80s alternative via The Smithereens and Replacements with enough pop to cross over..."
- from the website of the Dig Me Out podcast

"...an incredible Iowa quartet that traded in medium-loud, complex guitar rocka la Television or Dumptruck. Almost psychedelic in its shifting textures and lyrical imagery, but always melodic...

"Iowa has long been a fertile breeding ground for driving pop bands. With guitarists Mike Sangster and Doug Roberson coming from two such bands, the Hollowmen and the Dangtrippers respectively, Head Candy is poised to carry on the tradition. Sangster's vocals oscillate between an uneasy tension and a mellow smoothness in much the same way that Head Candy's songs reflect both a world-weary callousness and a vulnerable sweetness...

"(The album's) uncomplicated production gives it an even mesh, comprised of grinding guitars and fuzzy vocals vibrating over a firm rhythm section. Every sound falls neatly into place without being jelled into a sticky gloss, creating a steadfast sound throughout...

"Why it went unnoticed, is beyond the knowledge of God or even Captain Beefheart."
- from a review by Rainy Day Sponge on the Matt Lostintyme website

"Head Candy won a battle of the bands which gave them a record deal with Link Records distributed by Hollywood/Elektra/Warner. This band had Doug Roberson & Jim Viner from Iowa City, Iowa, who are the current guitarist and drummer, respectively, for The Diplomats of Solid Sound as well as Mike Sangster who came from the Des Moines-based band The Hollowmen who had a couple of records out in the late 80’s. Dubuque, Iowa native JIm Vallet, whose current project is entitled Track a Tiger (Chicago), rounded out the line-up on bass. This band was praised for its use of layered guitars and unique tunings. The resulting album Starcaster (released 1991) is an album still considered to be one of the better efforts of this period and area. At the time there was a lot of speculation that Iowa City was going to blow up like another Athens or Seattle given the shear number of bands the area had to offer. Head Candy also had a video shown on MTV’s 120 Minutes." - written by Last.fm user fortheear and tidfeloy for Head Candy's Last.fm page

"Dave (Kendall of MTV's '120 Minutes" rambled on about the Red Hot Chili Peppers and tinkled the floor with golden rushes of urine before changing topics to a new and upcoming band. The band he was speaking of was called Head Candy, a veritable “supergroup” of Iowa scenesters who missed alternative notoriety by that much.

"Headed by Mike Sangster, the Iowa City quartet made pleasing and catchy music that seemed a bit too tame for those big bad grunge years. They may have been the Hawkeye state’s last hope for rock infiltration before a bunch of dudes from Des Moines put on some masks and screamed about their discontent on the second stage of Ozzfest.

"Head Candy landed a record deal with Link Records out of Boston who score about a three album boutique deal with Hollywood Records. Don't bother looking for the label...Either one of them...They're not around anymore.This may have made them Iowa first modern day rock band with a major label deal back when having a major label deal was a big thing.

"What the deal provided them was enough cash ‘n clout to have Andy Wallace, the same dude that mixed Nirvana’s Nevermind, man the knobs for their debut album Starcaster. It’s a really good album, and you can probably find it at a used record store outside of the Hawkeye state for next to nothing."
- from a review by Todd Totale on the Glam Rocket website

Lineup:
Mike Sangster - Vocals, Guitar
Doug Roberson – Guitar, Vocals
Jim Viner – Drums
Jim Vallet – Bass





Underground Archives:
http://underground-archives.com/content/head-candy

To download this podcast, right click on the link below and hit "Save as...":
https://archive.org/download/IowaMusicShowcaseEpisode50/Iowa%20Music%20Showcase%20-%20Episode%2050_.mp3

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