Stems – Heads Up

It’s incongruous to think that Heads Upwas only The Stems second full-length album released 20 years after their acclaimed debut At First Sight – Violets are Blue. Incongruous not just because The Stems remain one of Australia’s most virtuous garage and power pop bands despite a playing and recording history that lasted a mere 4 years in the mid-1980s. But also, because Heads Up is so pure, fresh and potent that it could have been recovered from recording sessions shelved at the height of the band’s original popularity.
Ten original tunes were recorded in Perth in earlier part of 2007 at the vintage recording compound of KingDom Studios and later mixed at Ultrasuede Studios in Cincinnati by producer John Curley (Afghan Whigs, Greenhornes and Ronnie Spector). Heads Up was well received by fans and critics alike and would reset the path for the band’s resurgence as live touring act.