Predatory Headlights


Predatory Headlights is a double album by Appleton, Wisconsin-based rock group Tenement. It was released in June 2015 by New York-based record label Don Giovanni Records. Perhaps due to its length and frequent genre cross-over, it was initially ignored by many established music publications but eventually ended up on Rolling Stone's "15 Great Albums You Didn't Hear In 2015" list and Spin magazine's "2015 Overlooked Albums Report". According to The New Yorker, the album "Highlights the strongest aspects of the group's songwriting".

Reception

The New York Times: "Mr. Pitsch will write half of a song that could have been a modern-rock radio hit 20 years ago, then break through the three-minute barrier and move the ABA form toward C, D, and E sections, minimalism, drones and process music. About a third of the album uses a compositional palette of strings, out-of-tune pianos, household percussion instruments and outdoor recordings. None of it is haphazard; every song is a puzzle, an attempt to connect varied impulses, shaped with a beginning and an end."
AllMusic: "With some judicious trimming, Predatory Headlights could have been a creative breakthrough and a great listen from front to back; as it is, this is a good album whose occasional nosedives into pretentiousness keep it from being great, though despite its flaws, it's well worth a listen and confirms Tenement are a band with remarkable promise."
Punknews: " A strange dichotomy is achieved on this album between that which is melodic and poppy, and that which is dark and atmospheric. It is jarring, and for the most part it works to lend Tenement a certain depth of artistry that many contemporaries are unable to bring to the table. It ultimately serves to make Tenement a more interesting, complex musical entity."

Track listing

All compositions by Amos Pitsch.
  1. "Theme of The Cuckoo"
  2. "Crop Circle Nation"
  3. "Dull Joy"
  4. "Feral Cat Tribe"
  5. "The Shriveled Finger"
  6. "Harvest Time "
  7. "Under The Storm Clouds"
  8. "Ants & Flies"
  9. "Garden of Secrecy"
  10. "The Butcher"
  11. "Whispering Kids"
  12. "Curtains Closed"
  13. "Why Are We Where We Are"
  14. "You Keep Me Cool"
  15. "Cold The Pavement Is"
  16. "Heavy Odor"
  17. "A Frightening Place for Normal People"
  18. "Licking A Wound"
  19. "I'm Your Super Glue"
  20. "Hive of Hives"
  21. "The Dishwasher's Meal"
  22. "Keep Your Mouth Shut"
  23. "Foreign Phrase"
  24. "Near You"
  25. "Afraid of The Unknown"