This has been the kind of summer where I have been so busy I’ve forgotten that I pre-ordered releases! Now when the pre-order is for physical goods, that’s easy to deal with. We ignore it until a package arrives int he mail. But when the pre-order is a DL, then things get…complicated. It was August 22nd when I got the notice from Welsh SynthPunk wiseguys Head Noise that they had a new single coming out while they were plotting the next album.

As I love their declamatory, DEVO-esque SynthPunk I instantly took the bait and lobbed £1.00 [plus £2.00 tip – sell low/buy high!] in their direction for their new single due on September 8th. It was an almost cover…of formative influence DEVO’s cover of “Working In A Coal Mine” now re-cast as “Working On A Laptop.” With Head Noise joined this time by guest lead vocalist Olivia Williams [General Waste]. I paid my dues…then things got busy.

Really busy as I’ve taken a week’s vacation to Akron, Ohio as well as work-related air travel, another flight to surprise a friend on his event birthday, plus another two road trips to see Pulp, Sparks, and Judas Priest [one of these things is not like the other…]. With a stint of caring for neighbor’s dogs during their vacation crammed in all of that! The bottom line? September 8ths Head Noise release date came and went while I was otherwise engaged. And with Bandcamp DLs, it’s incumbent upon me to go and fetch them, import them into my Music app, then transfer the files to my personal device for listening in the car, and eventual review. Which is finally happening today!

Head Noise: Working On A Laptop – WALES – DL/CD5 [2025]

1. Working on a Laptop 2:44
2. Psychotronic Man 2:59
3. Sheer buccaneer 3:37

The brief for this recasting of the song was to grouse about how your laptop gets cruftier and cruftier with updates until the point arrives where it’s effectively bricked. As if the Macintosh rainbow cursor in the cover art didnb’t make that blatantly apparent. The bass synth pulse was deceptive as the soundfield split into binaural sound just seconds into the hyperstimulating track! When I heard a soundbite of a tech support call asking the user “have you tried turning it off an on again?” i actually laughed. Then Ms. Williams vocal arrived and was given a heavy dose of chorus to make the song even punchier.

She handled the leads with Mitchell Tennant offering BVs only this time. But he did get spotlight on the exhortation of “Oh Jesus, I’m so annoyed…Windows or Mac Book Pro” in an ironic echo of the famous “Lord, I’m so tired” hook from the earlier versions of the song. It sounded like a guitar was snuck into the middle eight and then the climax let the sound of dialup handshake and Ms. Williams’ complaints and finally a laugh.

The Non-LP B-side of “Psychotronic Man” rocked a lot harder than we expect from Head Noise. Sounding like a very credible Man Or AstroMan track, from the speedy guitars and tempo to the z-movie trailer soundbite as Mitch proclaimed his love for the trash aesthetic in his filmed entertainment choices. Making him the “Psychotronic Man” undoubtedly with a well-thumbed copy of Michael J. Weldon’s mandatory cinema reference guides. The tremolo twangs reminded us that calling Head Noise “Synth Punk” might be a bit limiting.

Finally a live recording of “Sheer Buccaneer” from the last Head Noise album, “Twisted Histories” as recorded in Cardiff, Wales last spring merited inclusion if only for the incongruous decision of Mr. Tennant to speak to the crowd in German. The live duo rendition loses the gimmicky vocal production of the album version to gain some power here in its directness. Though the shaggy Theremin solo in the middle eight made up for any streamlining. Maybe it’s time for a Head Noise live album quickie?

The new DL single is a paltry £1.00 so be sure to buy it today on Bandcamp Friday and top it up while you’re at it. For hardcore tactiles, the CD version is a mere £2.50! The band also have a brace of merch available in their Bandcamp store on the merch tab. There’s a compilation of their first nine years worth of twisted Pop called “Chomp Elation.” It’s yours for a mere £5.00 investment.

Head Noise: Chomp Elation – WALES – CD-R [2025]

1. Microwave
2. Age Of Content
3. Alaska Later
4. 200,000 Gallons Of Oil
5. Fluffy & Uranus
6. Shrunken Head
7. Candid Camera
8. L.H.O.O.Q
9. Finally Snapped
10. I Was A Teenage Video Nasty
11. Sea Of Noise
12. Dangerously Close
13. Doin’ Science
14. Miracle Mile

As well as caps, stickers, t-shirts, pins and lovely embroidered patches. If they had LPs, mayhe Head Noise would have amazing merch inner sleeves like the ones on DEVO records of yore? In closing, please remember that all merch bought on Bandcamp Friday also goes 100% to the artists! DJs hit that button!

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