I imagine that John Hunt is an average guy. I'm sure he likes a beer or two on the weekend. I bet he likes to rock out after working 9 to 5. Bet he likes to turn up the rock when he gets together with "the boys." I'd also imagine that he likes rock music of various types: classic, alternative, indie, and college. He likes to do his rock thing with his "boys" called Fivehead, and their music is just dandy like ear candy.
Big Mistake Factory is Fivehead's latest snapshot of all-American Austin-based rock and/or roll. It's a fine, fine affair, no big surprise there, and it shows that Hunt's departure from Silver Scooter to focus on his side projects was not a bad decision in the least. I don't hear much that I could compare to the late, great Silver Scooter, which leads one to think that his role in the band, while important, never allowed his full potential to blossom.
But Silver Scooter is in the past, it's time to move on, and Big Mistake Factory is an excellent record of Hunt's growth. True, there are some that will dismiss a good portion of this record as being slightly derivitive. Screw those critics. Sure, a few seconds of a song may sound like Pavement here or Tobin Sprout there, but that's not to say they're not original. They're growing, and this is a nice growth spurt. Not particuilarly lo-fi, not unoriginal, and bring on the Cello---that's a nice touch! There are also some quite lovely little keyboard moments on "young and compliant" and "last vegas stance" has a pretty funny little comedy routine mixed in with the music.
Fivehead are a band that definitly have some interesting days ahead of them; Hunt's a growing songwriter, and this album is a great step above his "Goodie the Rat" EP he released earlier this year, and that was a kick-ass release! It's a pretty damn good sign when your newest recording is 100 percent better than your last awesome record.
Definitly a keeper, a smile-inducer.
--Joseph Kyle
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