It's now time for our 191st monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and after a brief detour into archive reviews last month, we're looking at a brand new album to end May 2025, namely local hard rock quintet HeadF1rst's second release and first full length album "Road Trippin'"! Their first CD since replacing the I in their name with the number 1, this was released on May 4th at the Steel City CollectorCon pre-party at Soo Blaster (which doubled as the album release concert) through MorningStar Records, with a far more professional packaging job than "Head Trauma" got, if with fewer liner notes. "Road Trippin'" was recorded at Unsalted Audio with producer Bill Priddle (who guests on at least one song), while the album was mixed and mastered by studio head Dustin Goodall. HeadF1rst are again represented here by singer Red Jettison, guitarists Rainey Rancourt and Liam Dinsmore, bassist/guitarist (and Red's sister) Claire Jeffrey, and drummer Anthony Boudreau.
If Bill/anyone else appeared as guests elsewhere on the album, I can't confirm said involvement from official promotion. "Road Trippin'" is on sale for $20 at HeadF1rst concerts and through the band, though expected availability on MorningStar Records' website is not live yet. You can stream the album for free on YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Spotify, and you can properly buy it on mp3 on iTunes as well. With nine songs running for about 35 minutes, let's hit the road with HeadF1rst via the album's first song "Tour Bus Fantasy"! A classic rock inflected song that lets Red show off his vocal range with some deep baritone verses, this song arguably stands out the most from his distinct singing here, though I do find that Claire's backing chorus vocals really clash with Red's. Rainey gets a good solo, and the song drives along well without shaking things up too much instrumentally, but come for Red's smooth voice!
Second is the hopefully non-prophetic "It Gets Worse", whose drum-led intro takes us into a bit of a lively southern rock-influenced number, and featured Red singing more at full voice for the duration. Musically, this song does way more to showcase HeadF1rst's talents, with Rainey getting more standout guitar licks outside of the usual solo placement, and the rhythm section acclimates well to this rollicking and upbeat tune. It almost feels like the song ends a split second early given how abrupt the last "Yeah!" is cut off, but as a pure and complete song, this definitely is not worse! Third up is the album's second single "Steam" (watch its music video here), which opens with the sound of a steam engine train before the song proper leads off, and we get more deep vocals on this slower number, though I'm not 100% sure if that's Red singing, as Anthony sometimes trades places with him, and I recall his vocals being deeper. If I'm wrong, disregard that thought!
Regardless, these bass vocal stylings have more of a country influence, with the rock only kicking into gear on the choruses, again with Claire's backing vocals here and on the last verse not really gelling with the lead singer. This song is well performed and shows off HeadF1rst's range, but you have to be into outlaw country to really appreciate this one at complete face value, as the guys are capable of heavier and livelier material. Things mellow down on song #4, "Story Of Me", a legit ballad with Red's vocals taking on a softer pitch and melody without going into his earlier deep tone. Again, this is a good exercise of HeadF1rst's range as musicians, but it kinda meanders after a while, Red's singing feels somewhat forced, and the song fades out way too early, like they didn't know how to end the song and decided to wrap it up way too soon to mask that. Not a terrible ballad by any means, but I know that they're capable of a stronger one than this.
We hit the midpoint of "Road Trippin'" with its longest song, "Drowning In Dread", and while still a relatively reserved song compared to the album's first third, it has more life and energy to it, especially in the choruses, and the guitar work from Rainey and Liam has some mildly trippier elements. Really, the vocals drive this one along, and Red's vocal range is put to good use with some higher notes being reached with ease, but I'd have amped the rock up to better suit the vocals. In terms of the contrast between the style of vocals and the music, this reminds me a bit of Greta Van Fleet's "Heat Above", for better or worse. Sixth up is "Stay For The Show", which is the best song (for my tastes) since "It Gets Worse", as it's a straight forward hard rocker that reminds me a bit of the old Stiffler's Mom original "Enjoy The Show" in lyrics, and it's a solid and tight number that lets Claire show off some solid bass and her best backing vocals yet!
My big issue with this song is that Red's vocals are flatter and not very rangy, and you'd kinda hope that with the experimentation he's done on earlier tracks, why not let loose a bit on a fast rock song like this? Still, for my preferences, the album has definitely had a clear peak and valley from songs #2-6! Next is "Homewrecker", which is another classic rock throwback, but with a heavy base and a good catchy melody that definitely improves on the prior song to make this one of my favourite songs on the album! Vocals are really dialed in to the music with good melody, Rainey's solo is another top notch one, and everything clicks to make an upbeat sing-along hard rock number, so don't bypass this track! The penultimate and shortest song on offer is "Have A Good Time", which basically starts as an acoustic drinking song before fuller band input creeps in, and I can definitely see this song having appeal for some night-ending audience involvement!
While I prefer "Homewrecker" and "It Gets Worse", this succeeds as a live concert-friendly drinking song, so fans will enjoy it on that basis, and everyone handles it as well as you'd expect! "Road Trippin'" ends with a bang via the first single "Slay The Dragon", which is the song that has publically acknowledged guest guitar work from producer Bill Priddle. At its peak, this hard rocker is up there with HeadF1rst's better tracks, with a good ominous build-up in the verses, effective percussion from Anthony, and hard hitting heavy stretches with Red's vocals adjusting to match, but a slow, meandering bridge at the 1:40 mark really drags the song to a standstill. A fun and hard hitting capper to the album all the same!
So, what are my final thoughts on HeadF1rst's... first full-length CD? It's a step forward in terms of production values and artistic growth for sure, but fans who lean towards heavier music (like myself) will get inconsistent results in terms of songs that suit their preferences. I hesitate to compare too much to "Head Trauma" in that regard because that was a four song EP, but HeadF1rst definitely wanted to show off different musical influences and styles here, so there will be a little something for everyone in terms of sound and pacing. Red's vocals really got a good workout here and he was able to demonstrate his range to good effect, while the guitar work was always strong from Rainey and Liam, and Claire and Anthony's rhythm section was effective! My favourite songs were "Homewrecker", "It Gets Worse", and "Slay The Dragon", but if you like southern rock, classic rock, and softer ballads, you'll find them elsewhere.
For things that I'd address... the album could have been laid out more evenly to better level out the songs, I don't think "Story Of Me" is up to their composition standards despite best intentions, "Stay For The Show" and "Drowning In Dread" almost feel like they have misplaced vocal energies, Claire's backing vocals often didn't mesh well, and while not reflective of the music, I'd have had more substantive liner notes than what we got, costs/logistics at MorningStar acknowledged. For what I go for in hard rock, this isn't a perfect album, but it's an important step forward for HeadF1rst, still a young band with a very bright future, and I can't wait to hear what they have in store next! Buy or stream the whole album at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! Next month's review will very likely be of Sault Michigan metal solo project X's & Y's' sophomore album "Ruination Coactive", which is expected to be released on June 13th.
Look for that and for much more news and notes on the site next week (and month)! Thanks everyone!
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