EP Review: Head Ballet - 'Suddenly It's Making Sense'
Electronic duo Head Ballet release Suddenly It’s Making Sense - their debut EP which has us floating around the dream-pop cycle of firsts - loves, break-ups, and breakdowns.
The five track EP captures the exaggerated highs and lows of new relationships in just under fifteen minutes. Kiera Court and Danny Casio, the names behind the British duo, formed in Manchester whilst living together during lockdown, and have built a soundtrack to the growing pains of adulthood and feelings usually left unsaid.
The first track and the single from the EP, Beachgrass starts light, blending acoustic guitar with dynamic synths and soft vocals, starting in a place of optimism and gentle euphoria, setting the landscape for the rest of the tracks to disrupt the romanticism created.
We are then taken through a progression of states, from the vulnerability in the acceptance of moving on in Real Life, to Interlude 1 which acts as the pause in realisation, as they explain, “We imagined walking through a really busy train station or city with your headphones on, listening to a grand, cinematic movie soundtrack.” Of which this track emulates perfectly.
The latter half of the EP takes a turn, with Eraser quite literally erasing the dramatised emotions felt before having the time to process them, and drawing the line between pain and pleasure. The final track, To Know Yours crescendos to a peak of emotion, and the end of a relationship. The climatic bridge and outpouring of vocals encompass the subconscious turmoil of accepting the loss of someone from your life, and how to move on. The repetition of the line “To know yours” takes us back to the initial dream-like state in which the EP began, a lullaby sending us to sleep, or a cycle re-starting.
On the title of their EP, Suddenly It’s Making Sense, they shared, “The EP name came from the first verse in our song “Eraser” and we feel it’s an apt summary of how an emotion can weigh so heavily on you at the time or a break-up might seem like the end of the world but with time and perspective, the way events unfold and why start making sense.” Which explains the fluidity of emotions through the tracks, from a dreamier beginning to the dramatic intensity that To Know Yours ends on.
The EP plays out a world of emotional complexity, It’s Making Sense is a world crafted from isolation, and escapism. Drawing on past loves, the EP stands as a segment of the past that is relevant for the future.
Words by Jemma Levine
