Heavy
Renegade English soul-rockers The Heavy celebrate the release of their new album, The Glorious Dead, with a Last.fm Live in London show at the Borderline on 9th August. Self-produced and with their unique, raw eclecticism fully intact, it’s their most fully-realized record yet, mixing together soul, hip hop, rock, blues and funk into glorious, raucous party music that is equally full of heart.
Frankensteining everything from swampy voodoo and b-movie zombies with garage-rock guitars and Gospel-soaked soul, it becomes a whole other creature feature unlike anything else you’ll hear this year. The Glorious Dead isn’t just The Heavy’s third full-length: it’s also the group’s most ambitious effort, traveling sonically from the group’s South England home to America’s deep South, and beyond. It’s also building off momentum from The Heavy’s greatest success, the international smash single “How You Like Me Now?,” off the band’s acclaimed previous album, 2009’s The House That Dirt Built. An infectious anthem of hard-rocking maximum R&B, “How You Like Me Now?” exploded upon release: it became the first song David Letterman’s ever requested an encore for when The Heavy played it on his “Late Show.”
‘The Heavy sound like Curtis Mayfield’s ‘Pusherman’ resurrecting Led Zeppelin and the exiled spirit of Cassius Clay. Get used to the weight, The Heavy are about to throw it down.’ – The Fly
‘If you want your soul revival as funky as Amy Winehouse or Sharon Jones and the dap-kings but with just a little more fuzz, this British four-piece has you covered’ – Rolling Stone
‘A little bit R&B, a little bit rock ‘n’ roll… Imagine if the White Stripes lived in Detroit when Motown first started its rule and you’re halfway there They’ve got American rock soul for days.’ –Wired
‘You’d think it would be hard to reinvent blaxploitation-era soul, but The Heavy pull it off explosively well…just listen and try not to fantasize about Pam Grier fighting off her pimp with a broken bottle.’ – NME
‘A cast-iron groove-rock quintet whose mix of frazzle and funk gives off an instantaneous contact high. Superfly and superfun.’ – Spin