Peanut butter and chocolate; Hall and Oates; French fries and nacho cheese. Some things were meant to be together, but punk and stoner metal? That's kind of like touching two jumper cables together. Explosive!
Tall Tales I serves as a nice introduction to what this New York City band is all about. Side A boasts the track "Save Our Souls," which opens with the classic big riff intro which works its way into a heavy groove by way of a severely overdriven bassline pounding out the rhythm. This is the kind of jam to get toasted on. Those unfamiliar with the band will probably expect a sound similar to the work of Witch or even Pelican, but the band quickly eschews those notions by exploding into a lightning fast punk ala Black Flag: dirty, raw, and pissed off. On Tall Tales I The Dustheads achieve what I imagine The Hope Conspiracy was trying to do with their latest album, if they could only abandon their metal leanings. The B side of Tall Tales I contains two quick bursts of rock fury, which are more punk than anything, but don't forget the righteous fretwork to prove the seriousness of their lo-fi upbringing. These songs are reminiscent of songs on Annihilation Time's second album. You could just as easily get down to this record with a freshly packed bowl as opposed to crushing a Pabst and hitting the circle pit.
Now with all expectations not only met, but clearly surpassed, The Dustheads unleash Tall Tales II. The C side of the record contains two short tracks that blur the line between punk and rock in same the fashion The Stooges and MC5 did in the late sixties. Where those bands lacked in ferocity and gruffness, The Dustheads return it four fold, combining both power and speed to create some truly sick music. Rounding out the crushing experience that is Tall Tales I and II is side D which brings us back to the heavy groove that opened up the A side to Tall Tales I. These boys obviously have the big picture in mind, writing cohesive songs that tie together both records into one punishing listening experience. I can only imagine how much they kill it live.
While these are sold as separate seven inches these two records are clearly companion pieces to each other. The label on Tall Tales II even denotes the record as sides C and D, a continuation of Tall Tales I. A quick look at the liner notes even suggests all the tracks were recorded in the same session. If your purchasing the records, save yourself the pain of having to wait to hear more and just order both at once. For those without records players, sucks to be you! You'll have to wait; as of right now there is no word when or if these songs will be available on CD. It's damn shame too; who knows how long you'll have to go before you realize what you're missing!
