Pay attention, I'll be asking questions later. Hyperhead was formed by Mary Byker and Karl Leiker, ex-Bugblot. Their debut single, "Teenage Mind." included Martin Atkins and William Tucker. However the album, which has songs co-written by Chris Connelly doesn't; ex-Milk drummer Chin and Paul Dalloway, another ex-Bugblot, replace Atkins and Tucker. Oh never mind. This is only relevant if you read the English press, who found it all just as confusing as you. Point is, it doesn't sound a bit like any of the former bands!

Surprisingly, there's a real rock fell to this album, rock mixed with a lot of late night atmosphere and boogie-woogie. Imagine a mellow evening with lots of alcohol - a nice woozie feel, your hips swiveling along as you make your way across the floor... Bumping into chairs is just an excuse to add a few dancesteps.

The bar band sounds real good, a kinda atmospheric swampaboogie thing ("Teenage Mind"),and your swaying away. Then they're doing some funk stuff which really gets you moving, and when they break into a real headbanger ("Close to Hysteria") you wanna whoop along. Next door they're playing some jazz-inspired torch song ("Ignition X 4"), and that's cool, too, but you've already stumbled into the headshop where they're playing a Doors-inspired space piece ("Method One"); that's way cool.

Beauty is, the damn thing sounds just as good sober.

- Jo Anne Greene

Hyperhead