If you think you don’t know The Heavy’s songs, you’re wrong.
The phrase ‘How You Like Me Now?’ might not ring a bell – but we challenge you to get more than five seconds into this song before you exclaim ‘oh, it’s these guys!’.
They’re mainstays of modern radio, TV, cinema, and gaming – and for good reason. Their corrupted R&B power is unstoppable and, back to full blast from the pandemic lull, they’re hurtling into 2023, whipping and writhing with blues drama, soul, and gospel passion, as well as the crunch of prime hip-hop and garage punk’s visceral electricity.
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If you’re a fan, then we’ve got good news for you: the guys are back with their sixth album, AMEN. And, by the sounds of it, it’s shaping up to be a good one.
“We’ve honed our craft,” says the band’s Chris Ellul, “we’re just better at what we do.” “It feels like a step-up,” frontman Kelvin Swaby adds. “It feels like all of the songs are insane. There’s no filler at all.”
Having just released their first single from the album, it’s easy to see why they’re so confident. It’s called Hurricane Coming and it storms through our speakers in a whirlwind of ‘60s R&B riffs, horns, and gospel harmonies.
According to Kelvin, the new single was inspired after frontman Kelvin Swaby was caught up in Hurricane Irma soon after moving to the US.
“The power of that, and it only touched us at, like, a one,” he recalls. “It’s just the way that relationships are as well. It was like ‘just be careful of taking something beautiful for granted.’ Don’t take people for fools. There’s always something waiting, lurking, even…”
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Like what you’re hearing?
Well, then why not catch The Heavy on their UK and European tour later this year? They’re heading out on the road and hitting a town close to you – probably.
- 21st March – Oslo Hackney – London, UK
- 22nd March – The Fleece – Bristol, UK
- 9th September – Kantine (Köln) – Cologne, Germany
- 10th September – Metropol – Berlin, Germany
- 12th September – Paradiso – Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 13th September – La Trabendo – Paris, France
- 16th September – Manchester Academy2 – Manchester, UK
- 18th September – St Luke’s – Glasgow, UK
- 19th September – O2 Academy2 – Birmingham, UK