Dirty Heads

Sails to the Wind Limited Edition EP

Self Released

(Dirty Heads MySpace)

In what has to be one of the biggest cock teases in history, it has been a tough time for fans of the Dirty Heads if you have been following them for the past few years like I have. I still remember the day when I heard Antelope for the first time. I was listening to the second compilation release from Sense Boardwear. A simple yet catchy guitar riff backed with bongo drums opens the song, ok nice but nothing mind blowing. Then wham!!! Dirty J’s and Duddy B’s amazingly creative flows kicks in and straight away I was a fan. The Dirty Heads had created a non-compromising sound clearly influenced by Sublime and the Beastie Boys, yet the end result was something unique to itself.

The Dirty Demos EP became the soundtrack to pretty much my entire life for the next year or two and to put it simply, the wait for the follow-up album, Sails to the Wind, has been excruciating. I realize the guys had difficulties with its record label and as stated by the band itself, ‘they want the album out more than anyone.’ So in the interim to appease the fans like myself, we finally get a taste of new music with this shortened version of the album.

So million dollar question? Was it worth the wait Pilipo? Yes, yes it was. While the Dirty Heads have had a bit of a make-over by adding a whole new band and DJ to its sound, at the end of the day the rhymes and attitude are still as ‘dirty’ as ever:

‘Well it's the two baddest long haired mother f@#kers right here,

People call us dirt bags and you know that we just don't care’ – Dirty Heads (Taint)

Amazingly well-produced, these new seven songs cover a lot of ground. There are some more straight-forward hip hops song like Taint and Morning Light (have you heard a beat kick in harder in recent times?). Then there are the incredibly catchy reggae inspired jams like Easy, Driftin’ and animated penguin favorite Stand Tall.

Delivering quality over quantity these songs should hold me over till the full-length’s arrival. So while I am breathing a little easier, ‘you can never have too much of a good thing.’

Reviewed by Pilipo

The Sails to the Wind EP can be purchased online here. It will also be available at the following digital outlets from Nov 15: Napster, iTunes, Emusic, Tiscali, Yahoo Music Unlimited, MSN, Tunetribe and Oxfam