THE SECRET HAIRDRESSER sound like a moog-driven fusion of My Bloody Valentine and The B52s, sharing the former’s very British sonic scuzziness and the latter’s cartoon sci-fi pop-punk. As befits such contrasting influences there’s a plethora of other stuff in there as well (old Fannies, Pixies, Blur, The Human League, Riot Grrl, 60s theme tunes etc.) but the bravura of the playing and the single-mindedness of the songs are too attention-grabbing to start nit-picking about where they’ve grabbed the individual bits from.
This boy/girl harmony 5-piece are from Bury St Edmunds, not in itself a well-known rock ‘n’ roll mecca but on this occasion its relative isolation seems to have allowed the band to concentrate their efforts solely on forming a unique identity and idiosyncratic approach rather than distracting themselves by worrying about what the local ‘scene’ deems cool and worthy of critical merit.
This all equates to an infectious and peculiarly wonderful sound that defies simple categorisation but is expressed in a breathlessly natural fashion. ‘Copier’, the opening track of their 3-track single, starts like The Fannies ‘Metal Baby’ but continually morphs into a rich array of poptastic moments that delights as it teases with unobvious changes in direction and influence. ‘Lying To Protect You’ is more direct and riff-laden and for ease of consumption could be labelled a Graham Coxon power-pop number with prog tendencies. Last track ‘Tension Seeker’ comes across like Phil Oakey and the Human League girls ditching the synths for guitar driven old school R’n’B tinged with some Funkadelic.
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And if all that doesn’t whet your appetite then when did you last check your pulse and are you absolutely sure you really like music?
www.thesecrethairdresser.co.uk
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