Single Review: CEO

In New Zealand, if you have horn sections in hard music, you automatically face the tradition set by Supergroove
and Head Like a Hole in popular music. CEO succeeds in bringing new layers to that venerable foundation.
The prominence of the jazz influence adds a level of freak-out to the mixture that feels fresh and exciting. The angular notes and rhythms convey an edge that simple heaviness isn’t capable of producing. The time signature is compatible with the strut of an upwardly mobile, high-paced businessman talking over everyone around him.

The vocal delivery and production reminded me of Shapeshifter, especially in “come try these shoes my son”, where it doubles up and even the way it jumps ahead of the note it’s settling on.
I would have liked to hear some more derangement or grunty bravado in the vocals towards the end. There was a ceiling to the dynamics that I didn’t feel getting scraped. Dawson says he wanted to slap you in the face and be almost scary; I was waiting for the vocal to reach a more percussive quality for that vibe with less composure and less silk.
The low distorted voice under his lead is a great touch, it gets across that gross masculine idea he’s exploring in a fun and interesting way and just sounds really cool.

Dawson says the rest of Hang Low will be more considered compared to the face slap that is CEO, so expect it as a foil to future singles or a jumping off point for a different tangent. In the meantime, I recommend CEO. A week later I’ve still got “I want to speak to the man in charge” rattling around in my head and the horns rattling my hips.

12″ vinyl will be available for pre-order via Elliott’s Bandcamp from 27 May 2022.