A Unique and Addictive Release from STEVE’S 9TH INCARNATION
A brand-new EP release from Steve's 9th Incarnation has a tendency to hit with some theatrical undertone and orchestrated backbone, as the whole thing has a sort of natural flow to it all, combining elements of Baroque pop, contemporary music, hints of jazz, and singer-songwriter, all rolled into this three-track record that feels like it's bursting with character.
The EP is called PERSPLEXTIVES, and the songs serve as a wild testament to songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Steve Head, who put it all together.
This record has its pop tendency for sure, but it also has hints of edginess lurking just beneath the surface that remind you of artists like Nick Cave or Tom Waits. There is this almost storytelling and, once again, theatrical aesthetic that lives throughout the course of this release, and this is part of why it wraps itself around you the way it does.
The EP was a bit of a trip to make, apparently, as it was done over the course of three days in Oxfordshire's Challow Park Studios.
Steve and friends like to call it the accidental EP, which you will learn a little bit more about later.
It all starts off with "Across The Universe", which comes right in with fluttering pianos, flowing guitars, and some of that jazz element I mentioned earlier.
There is something about songs like this that put you in the moment with them. They feel almost like you're watching them be performed right in front of you somehow.
Perhaps it's that in-room sort of energy that it all gives off.
When the rhythm picks up, it's got quite a fun groove, and it's got a sort of Southern feel.
Now, that Southern tonality doesn't just come from the rhythm, giving you that sort of slower foxtrot country vibe, but it also comes from additional instrumentation and reverb-riddled chords that float through the ether of the track and bring out this almost filmic approach.
As the song plays through further, string sections come in.
A beautiful quartet-like sound starts happening. You hear layers of violins that really start adding more depth to the song.
At first, you have to think twice about it, but after a short bit, you realize that those strings really work amazingly with the flow of the song and do help build and create this more robust atmosphere that lets the song feel more immersive.
This is also important because I feel like immersive is the kind of word that describes this full EP the best.
It does sort of pull you into its world, and Steve does an outstanding job of keeping things very dynamically balanced, from all the instrumentation to the vocals.
"Liability Steve" takes things a little further, bringing in the strings much earlier on, and this time, they feel like they lean further into that Southern country, Americana tonality with the rest of the song, whereas in the previous track, it was more orchestral and cinematic.
I love how everything comes into play and fits together like puzzle pieces throughout the course of this record, and how almost scattered it feels while also presenting amazing arrangements and well-thought-out nuances that help create the character of the record itself.
You can tell there was a lot of attention to detail when it comes to those even smaller elements, but it all really makes sense in the bigger picture.
What really grabs you about this track are the progression changes. The arrangement and composition of this song have such brilliant changes that they sort of take you by surprise.
There are also elements within those violins that help solo them out a little bit more. Instead of having layers upon layers of lusciousness, you have a single-string violin being played at once throughout sections of the song, and it helps add those little accents to everything.
The vocals are storytelling. They're not fully animated, but when I bring up artists like Nick Cave, for example, this is what I mean.
There is a sort of unique style to how the vocals are performed that blends bits of a slightly moody, almost darker undertone. Of course, this is not over the top, but rather more laced into the song's already boisterous aesthetic, even though it still comes through with an almost soothing calmness most of the time.
"Breathing" closes out the record and does so with an outrageous approach that absolutely blends all kinds of classic rock action into the mix.
This one hits a bit harder with distorted guitars, heavier drums, and these great, almost Gothic organs that fill any kind of empty space. Now, there's still loads of piano blending in with those organs, so you have a certain kind of thickness that this song offers.
I love that this track sort of closes out the record in such a unique fashion.
After listening to the first two songs, you really don't expect a song like this in place, but it works somehow perfectly.
This was a really expansive-feeling record for something that spans only about 11 and a half minutes.
It definitely swallows you up.
After listening to it all, I decided I wanted to have a chat with Steve about where it all came from and what might be coming up next.
So, while you dive into this release, have a read-through of our interview with Steve Head below.
Don't miss out on this release.
This was brilliant! Where did this release come from and what was it about for you?
Thank you. Yeah. A strange and interesting little record, we hope.
It came about almost completely by accident. Back in January 2025 we were getting a new line-up rehearsed, and it seemed a good idea to push ourselves a bit.
So, we went to see my friend Will Biggs at Challow Park Studios in Oxfordshire for three days. In my mind, we were going to rehearse and come away with some recordings to help refine the show.
It quickly became clear however that we were not, in fact, the ultra-professional, highly sophisticated unit we thought we might be.
Over the next three days we were deconstructed and then reconstructed. As a band, but also, honestly, as musicians, people… the whole jiggle.
A unique and valuable experience in hindsight. If, at the time, a bit, shall we say, emotional.
The recordings document the end of that process, and mark the beginning of where we are now. Adult, deliberate… slightly less confused…?
It all came together in a way I hadn’t anticipated. They’re the most beautiful Steve’s 9th Incarnation recordings so far.
Is it true you recorded this in just 3 days?
Yes. Three days at Challow with Will, who I’d met through a friend whose luxurious ambient record I was producing.
We arrived intending to rehearse. Three days later we were different people who’d accidentally made a record.
Of course, the recordings were later augmented with Ivan Hussey’s string arrangements, so the final mixes took a while to complete. But the performances, the character, comes from those three days. All live takes bar a bit (quite a bit..) of editing.
What are you performing on the release?
On our first record, and indeed the next one, one of the little in-jokes in the credits is “Steve – everything else”, which follows the endless list of beautiful collaborators who’ve generously contributed to the recordings. So you know that captures the 304 layers of software synths and so on.
For this one, however, given the gifts that the others brought to it, I was in the blessed position of just playing a bit of guitar and singing, alongside the writing.
Specifically, Daryl Holley, who’s been with us on drums for several years now. Aside from his metronomic, sympathetic and creative playing, he’s full of wisdom, ideas and common sense. Questionable taste in fruity drinks though.
Michael Gatenby, meanwhile, has been helicoptering in the most stunning piano and organ parts for some time now.
And my old friend Tom W. Moody, who joined us on bass for the session, and who I love very dearly.
This had a way of feeling orchestral, how did the quartet come into play exactly?
That was Ivan Hussey, who’s an extraordinary arranger and musician. He’s worked with people like Liam Gallagher and Mick Jagger but I know who his favourite is really.
We had the mixes from Challow, and I had the idea of asking Ivan about adding some strings.
He came up with some truly fantastical arrangements and recorded those with Jonathan Hill. You should look up his Instagram, by the way. Beautiful madness. Toilet seat and string quartet. etc.
So yes - what started out as quite immediate, live performances at Challow took on this other dimension through the quartet. Something opulent and cinematic.
Are you performing live right now?
Yes. In fact, on Saturday we put on a special ‘by candlelight’ evening with my dear friend Daniel Knox from Chicago at The Old Church in Stoke Newington.
A fun night. We debuted a couple of new colleagues, including the magnificent Tom Skilbeck, who brought with him some gorgeous three-part vocal arrangements, plus a seven-foot pigeon.
We have a Christmas party show in SE London next before moving into a monthly self-promoted series of shows in strange, unique venues featuring friends and associates from our wider community here in London and further afield.
I’m excited. The February one especially should be Very Special Indeed.
Now that this is out there, what’s next for you as an artist?
Quite a lot.
PERSPLEXTIVES is the beginning of a long series of releases.
Before Christmas, something instrumental, filmic and ambient arrives — think music for a space funeral — followed by another record that’s closer to PERSPLEXTIVES.
Both are finished and in the queue. Thankfully.
Then: I’ve just started on what I intend to be a mega-lavish collection of slightly demented wonk-Disney overblownness. I am really fucking excited about that.
When you work on something like this, do you have an idea for what may come of it, or is it a bit mind blowing when it’s all finished?
The first record and the next two were recorded in a similar way – the basic band parts recorded live, and then layered and layered and layered until it seems the song can tolerate no more layers.
But from here we will work more in the PERSPLEXTIVES way. Ideally without the scary emotional wonks and wibbles we spoke about a few minutes ago of course.
A big band of beautiful people, in a big room, with a team of loved ones supporting us, done in-and-out style.
I have a very specific studio in the California desert in mind for that. Unfortunately, I haven’t worked out how to persuade everyone that disappearing to the desert for some weeks is a sensible thing to do. Working on it.
What would you say people can expect from this record?
Three quite different songs, connected by the experience we’ve just chatted about.
Across The Multiverse is an autumnal account of a doomed if cherished romance, with an overblown arrangement and an accompanying video involving dancers, pigeons, etc. Usual stuff.
Liability Steve 2026 revisits the most popular song from our first album. It’s an absurd, somewhat uncomfortable reflection on my younger self’s decision-making, transformed into something dainty and orchestral.
And Breathing is a tribute to my late stepfather, a remarkable, force-of-nature Welshman who loved a cigarette. So yeah, a bit of regret, affection and the confusing business of goodbyes.
There’s humour in our music, but hopefully some genuine emotions and warmth too.
Is this release fictional, or a blend of fiction and non-fiction?
Entirely non-fiction. Unfortunately.
Across The Multiverse, for example, began with discovering a pointed message in red lipstick on the bathroom mirror.
While Liability Steve covers, among other things, waking up underneath the tour bus of a Major International Touring Artist after a show by my old band at that big tent in North Greenwich.
Reflecting on the catalogue, I’ve been fortunate to live through some bizarre if occasionally regrettable moments. They seem to lend themselves to song.
Before we go, is there anything you’d like to say to fans and listeners?
Just thank you, really.
Making records is weird, especially in 2026. You spend forever living with this music, get completely absorbed in tiny details, and then realize that the most important bit is apparently to chop them up into 20-second Instagram videos accompanied by something filmed on your phone in the toilet.
So when someone comes to a show, buys a record or takes the time to say something kind, it means a huge amount.
We have a lot of strange and hopefully interesting music to come, and I hope people enjoy discovering it as much as we enjoyed making it.
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