Audiopile Review: The Head Hurts But The Heart Knows The Truth has maintained its grip on us since its digital debut in the first half of 2023, even earning a spot on two staff member’s end-of-year lists despite not having a physical release until now. It was that good. It is STILL that good. Headache is a collaboration between the semi-mysterious Francis Hornsby Clark, who supplies the spoken word portion, with white hot producer Vegyn, who has racked up credits with Frank Ocean, Travis Scott, Duval Timothy, Dean Blunt, and JPEGMAFIA, not to mention issuing a steady onslaught of instrumental cassettes over the past half decade. Musically, The Head Hurts is a heady exploration of 90s nostalgia, one that touches on the dreamy and melancholy side of revered acts like Boards of Canada, Moby and K&D. Clark’s words, delivered via an advanced text-to-speech voiceover in a comforting British accent, is an uncanny and emotionally detached narration that flows almost incessantly from his restless mind, perhaps akin to the wry delivery of Dry Cleaning’s Florence Shaw. Clark’s contemplative thoughts flip between self-mocking, derision, humour, and optimism, sometimes all in a single track, posing questions without clear answers or detailing his interactions through the day. While Clark’s labyrinthine narrative has kept us coming back again and again, Headache’s wistful production is deceptively addictive, making this nearly impossible to put down. Vegyn’s near-danceable surroundings, largely propelled by warm breakbeats and doused in BoC-esque ambience, are disarmingly nostalgic, allowing for Clark’s deeply thoughtful lines to resonate profoundly without missing a beat. We can honestly say that we haven’t heard anything quite like this before, a feat that is becoming fleetingly rare these days. As an added bonus, the vinyl pressing comes with a second disc of the instrumentals so you can soundtrack the voices inside your own head.

Headache is a new project produced by Vegyn, with all lyrics written by Francis Hornsby Clark, and then performed by AI. Some facts about Headache: it is rare that a day goes by where Headache does not either lose his mind or lose a lot of money, and Headache is always unable to say how either happened. Headache loves gymnastics, especially the mental kind. Headache can spend up to ten hours staring at a wall, as long as it is painted white. Headache has been described by people as “the most charming person in the world”, “a total freak loser” and “extremely mediocre”. Headache is very popular among children, the elderly and the criminally insane. Headache is here for you. Headache would like to brighten your day, today. Headache would like you to know how much it would mean to them if you liked them.