We’re suckers for artists who don’t take themselves too seriously so I Am The Unicorn Head’s new single BFF ticked all the boxes for us.
BFF is a wonderfully quirky alt-rock song that just made us all smile. The opening line “I’ve got an appetite for apathy” through to the chorus of “my best friend, Satan” and on into the realms of WTF “I wanna ride an evil elephant”. You’d be hard pressed not to grin at the very least to this highly original song.
Reminding us in places of Weezer or The Presidents this is a fun song that grabs your attention immediately. A chunky guitar/bass/drums section and quickly into the vocals is a sure fire way to demand an audience, and I Am The Unicorn Head have nailed this.
There’s some lovely stereo in the vocal track and the doubling effect on the vocals put us in mind of Ozzy but with a little more class! By the time we got to the chorus about Satan we were all laughing and shaking our heads!!
There’s some really well conceived harmony vocals in the chorus which, by the second time around, have you joining in and feeling ever so slightly irreverent. This song is just so much fun.
The tone on the electric guitars really suits the genre and we just loved the reggae section. This was really unexpected, but somehow really fitted. Genre-bendingly interesting stuff! Particular kudos to the choice of notes in the reggae section on the bassline. Perfectly in keeping with 90s reggae and sitting nice and chunky carrying things along.
For my own production notes, I’d suggest a slight shelf boost around 100Hz and below to bring out the bass and kick a little more – being cautious in the reggae section though, where the bass is peaking at around 50Hz. A few slightly honky frequencies in the 6-700Hz area could be gently notched out and a sweep of the top two octaves should balance everything out and give the track just a touch more of the brightness I think it needs.
Quite possibly not a radio friendly song (but purely from a puritanical stalwart point of view), BFF is one which I have no doubt will be a hit with I Am The Unicorn’s existing fan base and one which will definitely bring in some new fans. We’re going to have to insist you see them live if you get chance. They look to be having the time of their lives.