New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Bristol-based poet/musician Human Head (aka Joshua Jones) is pleased to reveal 'Room To Haunt', the second single taken from his forthcoming new record, out now on all good digital service providers, with debut EP Sorry, I Wasn't Listening released on 13th December 2019 via Beth Shalom Records (Petlib., itoldyouiwouldeatyou, Rosehip Teahouse).
Serving as the closing track to the EP, 'Room To Haunt' was originally a poem that Jones subsequently rewrote, as he felt it was more satisfying in song format. Perhaps the poppiest song of the five on the record, it chronicles Jones' struggle to adapt to living back with his parents in Llanelli, South Wales, after living away from home in Southampton. "It's about feeling in limbo, and taking it out on the people who love you the most," says Jones of the track.
Human Head is the new industrial pop / hip-hop solo project of poet and storyteller Joshua Jones, originally from Llanelli, South Wales, but now residing in Bristol. Refraining from releasing music under his own name, Jones uses Human Head as an umbrella identity under which artistic freedom, exploration, and collaboration across the disciplines of poetry, music, and visual art are open to creative experimentation.
Sorry, I Wasn't Listening was recorded and produced by Thom Weeks (Binboy, Shit Present, Gnarwolves). Across its five tracks, the record variously explores themes of identity, alcohol abuse, and mental health. Self-doubt and the crippling anxiety that come from graduating university with no life plan, learning how to perceive and understand oneself after being diagnosed with learning difficulties, and the loss of identity within a doomed relationship are all a part of the conversation throughout the EP, with Jones sometimes covering all these topics and more in just one song.
Taking influence from a wide range of artists including Arab Strap, Joji, Modest Mouse, Waxahatchee, We Were Promised Jetpacks,
Massive Attack, Portishead, Radiohead, and Joan of Arc, the record's sprawling and diverse soundscapes touch on a multitude of genres and sound palettes to create a truly unique and intriguing insight into Jones' private and often unusually eclectic sonic world.
For example, late EP cut 'Look Shocked' melds a
Belinda Carlisle sample with arpeggiated chiptune bleeps and a driving techno bassline—all wrapped up in Jones' engaging and laconic Welsh drawl as he unravels a profound kitchen-sink drama through his lyrics—whilst EP closer and second single 'Room To Haunt', a story of small town drudgery and familial conflict, trips beautifully off the tongue over a dreamy psych-pop backing track.
As an entry point into Jones' insightful and individual take on merging his two loves of poetry and music, Sorry, I Wasn't Listening is both a poignant and charming debut from the Welsh newcomer.
Sorry, I Wasn't Listening is released 13th December 2019 via Beth Shalom Records
HUMAN HEAD live:
16.11.19 - Aldershot - West End Centre (WE 4RE HERE - A Festival of Creativity)
Human Head online:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/humanheadhumanhead
https://www.instagram.com/humanheadhumanhead/
