Flip Top Head share debut EP ‘Up Like A Weather Balloon’
The Brighton band share their first extended play.
Photo: Freddie J Willatt
Managing to effortlessly flow between moments of peace, to raucous chaos and back again, Up Like A Weather Balloon, the debut EP from Brighton-based six-piece Flip Top Head, channels an arrayed mix of genre-blending contained within each of it’s six tracks, which the band have dubbed “Orchestral Cult Rock”.
Heralding the start of the EP, I Can’t Wait Until I’m Old, establishes the overall tone of what is to come, as well as introducing us to Bowie Bartlett’s signature vocal style. Utilising spoken word, she contemplates the reality of growing older with a sense of ironic wit that has become common within the post-punk genre, before shifting to an almost operatic delivery displaying the power and capability of her voice. This sense of playfulness and foreboding that is carried equally within the track, is present within the entirety of the EP which follows.
Weightlifter continues this theme of amusement and relatability as Bertie Beer, who takes over lead vocals for this track, delves into a personal story inspired by meeting an ex-bodybuilder at a bar. Backed by playful guitar and solemn brass instrumentals, these real life situations and characters, from the bodybuilders on Weightlifter, mole catchers on So Much For Mole Catching and parish vicars without fingernails on Parish Café Meetings, live within each of the tracks on the EP and highlight the joyous and light aspects of a world which can at times feel increasingly melancholic.
Parish Café Meetings comes as the penultimate track on the EP, but stands out as the greatest encompassing of the breadth of Flip Top Head’s signature sound. Featuring twinkly guitars and punchy drums, the playfulness of the instrumentation gives the track a real sense of momentum and allows the band to move from delicate mellowness, to cacophonous bursts of energy at a moments notice, even throwing in a classic rock style guitar solo.
Closing out the EP, Jesse Paints The Houses feels like the band at its most mature. Weaved together through tight drums, ethereal vocals and glistening acoustic guitar, the track, which just passes the six-minute mark, feels like it never rushes to reach its thunderous conclusion, giving each instrument space to shine through and time to develop, allowing a true sense of atmosphere to emanate.
Throughout Up Like A Weather Balloon, Flip Top Head establish themselves as musicians who are not only capable of creating and maintaining an engrossing soundscape of equal parts prettiness and melancholia but are also able to sprinkle in a true sense of playfulness, making the EP as a whole highly engaging delivery of music that is, most importantly, fun to listen to.
Up Like A Weather Balloon is out now via Blitzcat Records.