 07/12/2007 Of the many, many causes given for the impending death of the music industry – amongst them: climate change; the internet; Boris Johnson as London Mayor; your mum – wise money should be placed on ruin being wracked by hyperbole. The irksome habit of describing every new record as the best blah since blah dropped the theremin and started eating pot from their bass drum or whatever has led to two industries, media and PR, consisting entirely of hot air. Hot air is worthless, except perhaps for decelerating the process of rigor mortis – which is a large part of these two industries anyway.
Ultimately, it has made the task of describing a genuine, skull-crushinglyawesome new band nigh on impossible. So we aren’t going to try to describe theHeavy yet. Before you read this, go listen to ‘That Kind of Man’ on their myspace.Then retrieve your jaw from the floor, go find where your ears went and come back.
Wow, right? It’s like Jesus just donned an afro wig and some flares, visited the future and then returned to shake it with you and Superfly at the baddest party you wish you’d been to in 1973. So few bands are given time to develop; most debut records are dropped with about three fully realised songs and a bunch of filler written by the artists when they were still sixth formers, which make them facile, tuneless homilies to nothing or acne. The industry’s impatience is a prime reason for the boom in downloads and the love shown to the iPod shuffle thing (two other harbingers of major label apocalypse).
The Heavy, however, are eight years in the making and magnificent for it. They’re achurch formed on the louche and irreverent rock of the friendship and songwritingpartnership of silken vocal-ed Kelvin Swaby and riffmaster Dan T (who utterlytrumped your correspondent in a monkey-off, I’m sad to say), taking in a hostof greater and lesser collaborators along the way – though keysplayer andsilken wailer Hannah and bassplayer Big Daddy Spence have been more or lesspermanent throughout. “Up until recently, it’s been the two of us presenting a partof a song to each other,” says Dan, superior simian impersonator. “Kelvin woulddo a vocal part, or I’d do a guitar line which would become a sample. But now... I’mstill trying to comprehend it.” Kelvin fills in: “When you have a band who play as well as these guys, it becomes about laying it down and sampling ourselves.”
Illustrating Kelvin’s explanation, an innocuous, almost facile question provesincisive: If The Heavy were the plot of a book or a film, what would you be?“Something by Jim Jarmusch,” quoth Spencer; “YES!” they all emphatically agree, “Down By Law!” they cried; “Mmm...” mused Dan, “Crossed with theA-Team.” “YES!!!” they all emphatically agreed again, before descending intomuch laughter and impersonations. The camaraderie of the collective is warmand inclusive, all constantly inclined towards fulsome chuckles. They’re agroup obviously happy – delighted, in fact – with their situation. “It feels as ifeverything has fallen into place at the right time,” Swaby confirms.
In a world awash with bands often driven by a single, consuming ego (yet another harbinger – *cough* Borrell), egalitarian musicianship will always breed more adventurous, exceptional results. The Heavy’s long incubation period has born such fruit – a great comparison both musically and structurally would be Gnarls Barkley, similarly meaty and silken, and similarly developed as life-long musicians. “Yeah, we’ve worked with the egos on and off, and every time it’s been the worst experience of our lives,” says Dan. “Lesser people – or, if we’d been less tight, might have fallen by the wayside,” Kelvin continues. “The idea of the album title, ‘Great Vengeance and Furious Fire,’ is kind of apt for what we’ve been through. There are people always wanting to take little bits and pieces from your persona and personalities. If you can stay true, well, you can make an album as good as Great Vengeance and Furious Fire!” And once more, they descend into hilarity.
The Heavy peddle the sex of dirt, always underlined by vicious, juicy beats andthose eclectic funk riffs. The album is as Biblically proportioned as its title,both sounding like Sam Jackson’s Pulp Fiction character massacring no-goodson the steps of Sacré Couer. Since Chris Ellul became their full time drummermid-summer, they’ve formed into a terrifying live prospect. As Kelvin says: “Ilook forward to bursting some ear drums. It’ll be ridiculous when you see it.Destructive. In your face. Ninja Tune has strengthened our arsenal. Now, we’regonna burn down villages. Spare only the women and children.”
ALBUM “GREAT VENGEANCE AND FURIOUS FIRE” OUT 05/11/07 ON COUNTER RECORDS/NINJA TUNE
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