ALBUM REVIEW: Sean Thompson’s Weird Ears ‘Head in the Sand’ Makes Peace with Uncertainty

A “storm’s coming tonight,” warns Sean Thompson on the second track of his second Weird Ears LP. Engaging in a timeless country motif, he uses the weather phenomenon as a stand-in for personal dread, anxiety and grief: “The anticipation is making me sick”. 

A deceptively-slick rocker, punctuated by electrifying guitar licks, “Storm’s Coming Tonight” (as well as Head in the Sand’s other eight songs) was written amidst a trio of tragedies; Thompson’s beloved dog’s passing, his mom’s death from cancer, and a “life-altering breakup”. Documenting life on the brink of imminent catastrophe, Thompson aptly captures the horrors of anticipatory grief and the feeling of being unmoored it inspires (“I’m so nervous I want to write my will”). Though sonically the song is deceptively light – chugging along at a defiantly upbeat pace – a terrifying sense of stillness lays at its narrative core. 

If there’s one prevailing theme across Head in the Sand, it’s making peace with uncertainty – a necessity in the face of multiple losses that rip the foundations out from underneath you. On the opening and title track, Thompson gets laughed at by a fortune teller, lightly mocks himself (“I’m just too damn lazy to understand”), and glazes over when he attempts to read a self-help book. His tone is ironic, but never detached, and by the end he has accepted unknowing (“I won’t ever understand / What it’s all about”). 

However, this doesn’t quell the yearning or the questions of ‘what if?’ for too long. On the mournful “Saying The Quiet Part Out Loud” Thompson opines, “I needed somewhere to store my hurt”, while on “Not In The Cards”, he reflects on a relationship’s slow demise and wonders “would it be easier to take if I lost my cool?”. One of the quieter songs on the record, his voice takes on a more conversational inflection; lived-through and audibly world-weary.

Still, revelations emerge amidst the grief, and the LP’s default sound – rollicking, jazz-inflected rock bearing clear influence from Frank Zappa – demonstrates a desire not to be overcome by the heaviness of it all. On “New Memories”, Thompson reaches a breakthrough as he reflects on the dangers of living in the past (“Somewhere back in time, there’s a place I wanna go / But I know it’s just my ego”). “Roll On Buddy”, a tribute to Thompson’s deceased dog, provides the LP’s most compelling storytelling:

You’re still with me every walk that I take

You pull me to every bush you peed on

When I scatter your ashes at the park

I know you’re going home once more.

But as is so often the case, lightness and relief emerge at unexpected and serendipitous moments. Sandwiched between two tunes of self-searching, “Sweet Taste of Tennessee” provides a portrait of a single, perfect day – centered around sensory-rich descriptions that root the song in its titular state; it was written during an upbeat day spent touring with friends. After finishing this album, Thompson said, “This is finally the kind of music I want to be making,” according to a press release. In the end, Head in the Sand emerges as a compelling testament to both life’s highs and lows – and a roadmap for making the most of the journey through such states. 

Sean Thompson’s Weird Ears’ Head in the Sand is out February 7.