American band Dirty Heads have been around for sometime, you might not have come across them before, but that's all about to change. The bands new album Sound Of Change has already been getting some great press in the USA with their latest single My Sweet Summer spending 8 weeks in the top 10 alternative Billboard Chart! Whilst doing some jet-lagged promo in London, the bands drummer Matt Ochoa took some time out to have a chat with me. Matt says “with the new record coming out we're ready to play some new songs, some old songs and hopefully gain some new fans.”
There is something about the Dirty Heads that is instantly appealing no matter what your musical preference. Trying to bring genre strands together is quite a tough thing to do, but the band manage to do this seamlessly and successfully. “We've always been one of those bands that can walk that line and play with different genres and blend them. This time we wanted to make people go 'what was that? This isn’t the Dirty Heads! This isn’t what they normally sound like!'” The album is very different from their other work such as Stand Tall and Spread Too Thin which have more of a reggae influence. This time round they called on the likes of Supa Dubs (Bruno Mars, Eminem) and Sublime (Sublime with Rome) to create a different sound and an album which pretty slick and well mixed.
Matt continues to explain about the feel of the album. “This record we wanted to work with other producers and step outside the box. We've been known as this band with a beachy reggae sound, so this time we wanted to go alternative and work with other producers to add a little bit more of a hip hop element, a bit of rock and get out of our comfort zone. On this record I think we definitely achieved that.” The development of their sound from reggae to acoustic to alternative is as fluid as the new album itself. What sparked the Dirty Heads musical evolution? Matt explains, “I think it has a lot to do with the type of music we were listening to growing up in the 90s in Southern California and going to the beach every day. All that comes out when we write music.” You can really hear the amalgamation of all those different factors in the new album which makes it exciting to listen to. “We wanted to show we could do something different so that's the direction we went.”All those influences have certainly paid off on this release.
Sound Of Change is also an album which continually surprises the listener and takes them out of their comfort zone. You don’t know where the album will take you next, so it keeps you on your toes. Just when you've got used to one sound, it throws a curved ball midway through the song and veers off some place different. Franco Eyed, Burn Slow, Burials are all really strong tracks on the album, but does Matt have a favourite? He laughs “it's like saying whose your favourite kid! I love the single, it's so fun to play. Silence, is a great song I can go crazy on the drums with that one, The Sound Of Change sends such a positive message, there's so many! I like them all!”
We like them all too. Sound Of Change is a refreshingly different and uplifting album from a unique band. The guys are on tour later in the year, be sure to catch them live too!