This Is Real (LP)

The Pinheads reside within a stylistic purgatory - too weird for punk shows, too free-form for garage rock, too genre-defiant for rock & roll, persevering on their own path, which may make pit-stops at any given corner of the musical spectrum should it suit their collective mood. The sound of The Pinheads is a mosaic of their collective tastes - built on the foundations of their heroes, a work of art in its own right.

This might explain why there's no clear A-to-B for the band's studio releases thus far - their 2015 EP, I Wanna Be a Girl, is filled with high-octane twists and shouts; while their self-titled debut album from 2017 locks into a more consistent groove and reaches out to previously-untouched territory.

Is This Real marks a reunion of sorts for the band, after several members took a short sabbatical from The Pinheads, to go explore other musical projects - among them Tropical Strength, Luke Spook and Shining Bird. Reconvening in their home studio, known as The Shed, the septet set out to once again push out into previously untouched Pinheads territory.

The songs are longer, often slower and more methodically paced. The wildfire that sparked their initial run remains, albeit in a more contained manner. This is the sound of a band that has been re-calibrated, focused and with a reaffirmed sense of ambition.