MICHAEL HEAD & THE RED ELASTIC BAND, DEAR SCOTT

Michael Head has long been regarded as one of Liverpool’s great songwriters, first making his mark with The Pale Fountains before forming Shack with his brother John in the late eighties. Shack became a cult fixture, loved for their jangling guitars, bittersweet melodies, and lyrical storytelling that always felt both personal and vivid. Despite constant setbacks including label issues, distribution woes, and even losing the original recordings of their landmark album Waterpistol in a studio fire, the band built a reputation as one of those rare groups whose following stayed fiercely loyal. After years of heroin and alcohol abuse, Head finally got clean and launched Michael Head and The Red Elastic Band in 2013, a project that signaled both survival and renewal. 

Head’s songs have always carried the weight of his lived experiences, mixing joy and melancholy in equal measure. Dear Scott, draws directly from that long path, pulling together the years of setbacks, survival, and persistence into one of the defining records of his career. Produced by Bill Ryder-Jones, the album surrounds Head’s finely detailed lyrics with warm arrangements of strings, brass, and chiming guitars. Each track plays like a small story, sketching people, places, and fleeting encounters, and the album affirms that his songwriting remains as vital as ever, rich in detail, melodic, and deeply human.