Thee Headcoats Albums (9)
'Brother Is Dead... But Fly Is Gone!'
Release Date 8/17/1999
Tracks 14
Label Vinyl Japan (UK) Limited
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What The Critics Say
This album can stand alongside the debut recordings of the Downliners Sect and the Pretty Things (not to mention the compiled work of the Liverbirds, so we're talking really, really extreme) as some of the finest primitive rock ever to emerge from England. From the bluesy British Invasion-styled "My Dear Watson," Thee Headcoats engage in a crude but compelling assault on their instruments that's as clever as it is unpretentious -- "Hog's Jaw" takes the central riff from Ian Samwell's Brit-rock standard "Move It" and turns it sideways on the opening, while "By Hook or by Crook" could have been the early Who (of "Anytime You Want Me") rehearsing on a good day with a fill-in for Keith Moon, and "It's Gonna Hurt You (More Than It Hurts Me)" is a delightful rewrite/reconception of "All Day and All of the Night," except that it makes the latter song seem overly sophisticated. And "Neither Fish nor Fowl" may be the finest Bo Diddley track that the rock & roll legend himself didn't write or record, and also manages to conjure up echoes of the Rolling Stones' "Please Go Home." ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
'The Messerschmitt Pilot's Severed Hand'
Release Date 11/7/1997
Tracks 12
Label Damaged Goods
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What The Critics Say
Although Billy Childish and Thee Headcoats have recorded their fair share of garage punk gems, their albums often get bogged down with songs that sound too much alike. The Messerschmitt Pilot's Severed Hand is a welcome exception. With this 1998 release, Thee Headcoats produced an entire album's worth of material that lives up to the promise of their singles. As with other Headcoats records, technical proficiency gives way to jokey garage punk attitude on The Messerschmitt Pilot's Severed Hand. And this album is a smorgasbord of lo-fi punk cynicism. Framed by a chord progression that screams of the Kinks' "All Day and All of the Night," "We Hate the Fucking N.M.E." is an overt jab at the corporate leanings of the New Music Express. Childish makes "N.M.E." sound like "enemy" and seals the band's fate for not getting any press in this music publication -- but this seems to be the whole point. The song title "I Suppose I'm a Poseur" appears to be an answer to the X-Ray Spex, but the music is a humorous mix of the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go" and the Who's "My Generation." And nothing says "punk" like songs with titles such as "I've Been Fucking Your Daughters and Pissing on Your Lawn" and "Blood Piss and Sperm." Despite the over the top punk attitude, this album isn't meant to be taken too seriously. Instead, it is a simultaneous celebration and mockery of punk rock. According to the band's label (Damaged Goods), Childish considered The Messerschmitt Pilot's Severed Hand to be the best Headcoats record ever made. It's difficult to refute his assessment. This record is quintessential Headcoats. ~ Andrew Helminger, All Music Guide
'Knights of the Baskervilles'
Release Date 10/8/1996
Tracks 12
Label Birdman
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What The Critics Say
Few artists are as prolific as Billy Childish, who seems to put out numerous records with numerous different bands every year. Most of the material is worthwhile, though, sometimes his frequent releases can be forgettable. Thee Headcoats' Knights of the Baskervilles is definitely one of his best records. Undoubtedly, he spent time writing a lot of these clever songs, and he's nailed down the blues here, too, on a couple of tunes, something most English songwriters would have a hard time with. The majority of the tunes have the usual frenzied, raw, dirty garage sound to them, while the lyrics are all very witty. Childish shouts many of his vocals, and this may be a bit jarring for some listeners. He's also definitely written some of these songs before, though, but it's hard not to repeat yourself when you're as prolific as he. But records like this one should make him more than a cult figure, as his body of work is extremely lengthy, impressive, and always improving. ~ Adam Bregman, All Music Guide
'In Tweed We Trust'
Release Date 5/20/1996
Tracks 12
Label Damaged Goods
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What The Critics Say
It's a Headcoats album -- anyone expecting anything different or unusual who already knows their work might as well go home. But, as with most everything Billy Childish has a hand in, what Conundrum lacks in surprise it more than makes up for with energy. "Every Bit of Me" alone has enough rough-voiced and snarling garage punk power to shame wannabes half the age of Childish, and that's just the first track of 14. His witty, blunt, and passionate views on life, love, and lust are as strong as ever, while the band sounds particularly great, still embracing the rough-and-ready Toerag Studio sound but cutting the musical crap and kicking out jams like nobody's business. If you need proof, throw on the drumming from "(Bitten Off) More Than You Can Chew" or the steady, malevolent punch of "Again and Again" to show how the guitar/bass/drums lineup can still kill when handled just right. Childish's long-running Native American song theme, sparked by his own personal worship of the guitar god par excellence Link Wray, gets a nod with the smoking "Crazy Horse," which actually sounds like a Bo Diddley cut more than anything. Then there's "Watch Me Fall," where Childish's guitar is so trebly and overmodulated it almost sounds like an electric sitar without even trying! Sometimes, however, all it really takes is Childish's own fierce contempt for the idiots of the world -- thus "He's So Popular With the Girls," which demolishes fame in musical and other spheres in a series of brilliantly intense verses that aim to rip heads off first and foremost. "We Ain't Gonna Be," meanwhile, makes romantic angst sound more wounded and raging than ever. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
'Heavens to Murgatroyd Even! Its Thee Headcoats'
Release Date 11/1/1990
Tracks 12
Label Sub Pop Records
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