The Total Rejection – Off The Top Of Our Heads And Other Forbidden Pleasures – album review

Bristol based The Total Rejection recently released their fourth, or fifth if you include the live one, album. Off The Top Of Our Heads And Other Forbidden Pleasures. They say ‘The album was created in three parts… Half before Covid / Lockdown, Half during the gap where we were able to go out. Then part had to be re-recorded after a freak ‘Tapes, Coffee & Dog’ accident destroyed some tapes of the album!’ They couldn’t get it out as quickly as they wanted due to the lack of pressing plants and the surfeit of releases getting produced, but it’s here now, read what Fighting Boredom think of it below.

The cover of this record is a good indicator of how many people The Total Rejection mean anything to. I even know a few of them. One of them is me, I’m slightly distorted and twisted which I feel is another good indicator of a Total Rejection fan. If you want to know what they are rejecting, well, you’ve not read the name properly. All of it, the total, the complete sum. It’s all rejected with a sneer and a laugh, ranting over, it’s all rejected out of hand. Totally.

I went back to the start when I got this through the post, I played them all again because although I’ve been told in no uncertain terms every time they release another album that the new one is the best thing ever, I still remember the thrill of putting Wrapping Yourself in Silver Foil on the record player, and the first time I heard it. He’s right though, the voice of reason and rejection, they do get better and this one is better again, a feat some might feel impossible while others will just shake their head at me. But then, their head won’t be on the cover will it.

Before I get down to it. I must stress that there is one thing this record isn’t. It’s NOT music for squares. No no no. It’s not for the well balanced out there. Although to be honest if you’re reading this you are already as hip as the next hip person. This website isn’t easy to unearth you know, you are part of an elite group of weirdo cool people. 

Right, now I’ve got that out of my system, let’s take a look at the record shall we. I’ve done the cover, full of faces of the hip, cool, and Godzilla. The inner sleeve is crisp, thick and stamped with a beautiful coloured record inside, is it pink? Is it in this light at this time of night after all the gin and tonics anyway. Stick it on and remember to turn it up to neighbour baiting volume. There’s no point playing it quietly is there? There’s just no point at all, if no ones banging on the walls it’s not loud enough.

So what do you get? You get the perfect blend of psychedelic wobbling, glammed up stomping and garage rock’n’roll grooving that The Total Rejection excel at. The almost whispered vocal is spot on as ever and the groove is crystal clear. It’s not hard to get into and that is the appeal, they are just The Total Rejection and get even more Total Rejection with every release. Have a listen, then listen to the rest of the records. They are cool, spot on slices of music to make your day brighter and your life better. Keep raving.

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The Total Rejection are on Facebook and can be found on the Raving Pop Blast! Bandcamp page.

All words by Adrian Bloxham.