Retreating somewhat from the expansive 2014 album
Black Beehive,
Big Head Todd are fully in the throes of heavy rock on
New World Arisin'. Despite its title, the album contains two 20-year-old orphans. "Glow" and "Mind" have been around for decades but never found a home, and their open-ended structure and fuzz guitars -- along with a cover of
Jimi Hendrix's "Room Full of Mirrors" -- provide a touchstone for an album that feels especially muscular. Such heavy guitars and funky rhythms are appealing, but the album's sequencing feels a little disjointed, possibly because the album makes so much room for sinewy jams. Nevertheless, there's an appeal to
Big Head Todd's confident swagger as it bears all the hallmarks of a band who have been steadily working for years. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine