Tex & The Horseheads - Life's So Cool (Enigma 2062-1) (NL 1985) (Vinyl 24-96 & 16-44.1)

Biography

by Chris True

Usually lumped in the same stylistic pen as bands like the Gun Club, Tex & the Horseheads were a Los Angeles-based cowpunk band fronted by the proto-Courtney Love-esque singer Texacala Jones. Getting their start amidst the burgeoning paisley scene of L.A. in the early '80s, Tex & the Horseheads would only record two studio full-lengths and one live record before calling it a day prior to the end of the decade. Their first, a self-titled affair released on Enigma in 1984, was followed by the John Doe (of X and the Knitters fame) produced Life's So Cool in 1985. Tot Ziens, a live document released by Enigma Holland in 1985 showed the band in rather ranting, albeit poorly recorded, form, and that was to be the end of their output. Jones and bassist Mike Martt would regroup a few more times for reunion shows, and Jones appearing with other bands and getting small parts in independent films, but for all intents and purposes, Tex & the Horseheads' career was as short as most of the rather self-destructive bands which spawned from the scene they came up in. allmusicguide

Review

by Steve Huey

Produced by X's John Doe, the group's album retains the psychotic energy of their debut, but adds much-improved songwriting and singing from Texacala Jones, plus added vocal interplay from the other members, to the Horseheads' mix. The highly appropriate subject matter includes drinking, wild sex, and brushes with the legal system, adding to the music's crazed abandon.

allmusicguide