From Indian Lakes – Head Void

The first time I heard From Indian Lakes was in 2016 after their album “Everything Feels Better Now.” They were recommended to me as a band that would be for fans of Copeland. While I could hear where that connection could be made, I felt that the band had a very intriguing, original sound. They somehow felt shoegaze-like and moody, while still feeling very melodic and catchy. The band followed 2016’s EFBN with the pop-infused “Dimly Lit.” “Dimly Lit” explored the more melodic side of the band. Joey Vannucchi enlisted the help of several guest artists for this record, which sprawled over 16 tracks and more than 59 minutes.

Enter “Head Void,” if “Dimly Lit” focused on the more melodic, accessible sound of the band, Head Void explores the more shoegaze-like/moody sound. I suspect a lot of the coverage of this record will be focused on the return of prominent guitar-driven music. However, I believe it’s the use of several other musical elements that makes “Head Void” stand out in the band’s discography.

Vannucchi has always been an excellent drummer, with a superb sense of rhythm. On “Head Void,” his skills in this department are on full display. One of the best examples of this can be heard on the album’s second single, “The Lines.” The song moves along at a trance like fast tempo but never feels stale, as the drums do an excellent job of separating the sections of the song. The hi-hat and the ride almost appear to be having a quiet conversation in the verses, while the chorus features a more aggressive approach with the use of an open hi-hat. It’s this tasteful attention to detail that is very well utilized to create a great rhythmic pocket throughout the record.

Of course, a great rhythm section also features fantastic bass playing. When I saw that Will Yip mastered the record, I was excited because he always emphasizes the low end in his masters. What makes Joey’s bass playing stand out on this album is the way he creates floating melodic lines. This can be heard on tracks like “Holy” and “Spilling Over.” The former occurs during a key change in the song’s bridge. It’s here that the bass creates almost a dreamlike state by playing higher up the neck.

If I had to pick one aspect of “Head Void” that sets it apart from the rest of From Indian Lakes discography, it would be the vocal performance from Vannucchi. This record finds him experimenting with many different vocal styles we haven’t heard from him in the past. It’s no secret that he has a beautiful mid and high range, but there are times in the album he uses his lower range effectively as well. The best example of this is in the chorus of the closer on the album, “Keep Me.” Instead of exploding into a higher vocal, Joe chooses a lower range delivery that is more reminiscent of the last Deafheaven album, “Infinite Granite.”

That doesn’t mean we don’t have some great moments of Vannucchi exercising his unique higher range as well. On the album highlight, “I Lay Different,” Vannucchi gives a powerful delivery that wouldn’t feel out of place on Radiohead’s “Hail to the Thief.” “I Lay Different” uses pulsing drum loops and driving guitars to really stand out on the album in a unique way. This ability to dive into new territory while still feeling like From Indian Lakes is what makes the risks on “Head Void” work.

While the album delves into the band’s moodier side, it doesn’t lack memorable melodies. There are a couple of fantastic choruses on this record that are real headboppers. My personal favorite song on the album, “Shrine,” features a layered vocal chorus that is extremely catchy. The chorus uses a lower vocal delivery paired with a very high upper octave to create an emotive melody that floats over the instrumentation. A similar vocal approach can be found in the album’s third single, “Wilderness.”

One thing I’ve always loved about From Indian Lakes records is their use of guitar tone, and this album is no different. “Head Void” finds Joey experimenting with a lot of different modulation reverbs that help give the album its dreamlike quality. When the band dropped their first single, Joey posted a Spotify playlist for his influences for this record. This playlist included shoegaze bands like Soft Blue Shimmer, Dottie, Slow Dive, and Slow Crush, just to name a few. That influence can be heard heavily in the album’s production but specifically in the guitars.

Lyrically, the album complements the dreamy, sonic sound extremely well. Just take a look at some of the lyrics from “The Flow.” “Take your lungs out, The air stays in your throat, You’re moving up the staircase through me, It’s sleeping in my head when I’m alone.” The imagery paints an incredible picture of longing to be near a loved one when apart, perhaps even dreaming of them.

“The Wilderness” contains some of my favorite lyrics on the album. Its verses read like poetry with lines like, “You lay me out, I’m picking the dirt with my other hand, I want to believe you’re mine, I could never blink, Never understand, How do you fall, When I’m pulling out my eyes? Leave them in the ground, Do you call? When it’s itching at your brain, Do you hear the sound?” This particular song also seems to be grappling with the loss of a loved one in some way. Leaving the song open for interpretation while still giving the listener the feeling of a connection to the lyrics is a difficult skill to master. It’s one that Vannucchi utilizes well over the course of the record.

Joey Vannucchi spent the last four years focusing on his solo project rather than From Indian Lakes. In retrospect, this was possibly the best move he could have made. Coming back to the project, it is clear Vannucchi was motivated to make a work that stood out in the band’s discography. “Head Void” is an album that feels like a masterpiece and may be the pinnacle of the project’s discography.  

Score: 9.2/10

Release date: 5/17/24

Track List:

Water

Holy

The Flow

The Lines

The Wilderness

Hold Me Down

I Lay Different

Spilling Over

Shrine 

Keep Me

Reviewed by Bryan Williams