Headstones: Tangled

By Kerry Doole

Headstones - Tangled ( Known Accomplice/Cadence Recordings): It's hard to believe it has been 35 years since these punk/hard rock heroes burst on the scene. Yes, they went on hiatus from 2003 to 2011, but returned with fire intact, delivering the goods on a bunch of releases since.

The group's previous album, 2019's PeopleSkills, spawned two Top 5 radio singles with Leave It All Behind and Horses, and the new track Tangled is the first taste of more to come in 2022. A label press release warns "Fuckle Up, we are just getting started!," and a new album, Flight Risk, is expected in October.

By Headstones' usual go-for-the-jugular standards, Tangled is quite mellow and mid-tempo, complementing the reflective lyrics of mainman Hugh Dillon. His trademark punkish snarl remains, and the results would seem tailormade for rock radio play. A label press release offers this description of the cut: "The track is a monstrously subversive ode to the 21st century, with elements of Link Wray, Dick Dale, The Dead Boys, and a hint of Dylan-esque disregard. This IS pre-apocalyptic rock and roll at its finest."

Long an acclaimed film and TV actor (Hardcore Logo, Flashpoint, Durham County), Dillon has now ventured into TV show creation (he executive produced Paramount+ original series Mayor Of Kingstown, which he co-created with Taylor Sheridan, with whom he worked on the critically acclaimed drama Yellowstone), but it's heartening to see he hasn't deserted rock 'n roll. He's undeniably one of the most charismatic frontmen in Canadian rock, a genre that needs more outsized personalities of his ilk.

Expect the lads to hit the road once the new album comes out.

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