Liverpool based blues rock band, The Heavy North have released their 2nd album, Delta Shakedown, (Friday 20th October)the highly anticipated follow up to last years critically acclaimed debut album Electric Soul Machine.
The 10-track album, is a contender for album of the year and features the singles Where Are You Now?, Round Again and last month’s surprise release Give A Little Love.
Delta Shakedown was recorded, mixed and produced by the bands guitarist Jose Ibanez at 3rd Planet Recording Studio and mastered by Martin Kuchta at Roughgrain Mastering.
Here’s the ThisIsTheMusic song by song review:
Delta Shakedown: If you were trying to describe The Heavy North to someone who had never heard them before, you’d play them this. It’s classic The Heavy North: filthy dirty blues rock. Throughout the course of the track each band member is given the freedom to showcase what they are about as musicians, before all coming back together for the chorus.
Where Are You Now? The first single to promote album number that’s already clocked up over 25k Spotify streams. It’s explosive and full of energy from the start. A song about remembering people who have come and gone in your life and wondering what they are like now. You are immediately hit with Jose’s electrifying fuzzy guitar hook and Mark’s thunderous drumming, which will have you immediately toe-tapping and head nodding along.
Give A Little Love was the bands most recent single and took everyone by surprise when it just dropped last month. It’s melodic and majestic with a real pick me up and soaring chorus. The drums are bouncing and really fast and is my favourite track from the album.
Approaching 17k Spotify streams it’s easy to see why Round Again is a fan’s favourite. Lyrically the song sees the band in reflective mode, looking at where life’s taken them so far. It’s got a stomping groove and is bursting at the seems with energy and is layered with harmonica, blues inspired fuzzy guitar riffs and thumping drums. Simply glorious.
I See You, Do You See Me? Sees the tempo drop and is built around a looping bluesy guitar riff. The song is inspired by a video of an old school friend of Kenny’s who had took the hallucinogenic drug Ayahuasca to try and find answers about his son’s disability. He seemed really comforted by the fact that that during his Ayahuasca trip he was told “he sees you and you see him” about his son.
I Couldn’t Love You More is built around this funky Nile Rodgers/Chic inspired guitar riff that will have you dancing around and sees The Heavy North add another sound to their bow. The track features fantastic trumpets and a gospel choir sound in the chorus that you can imagine blowing audiences away when it’s played live.
Don’t Need Money is the bands first anti-establishment song, that questions the motives of current conservative government and will resonate with many. Kenny’s vocal is packed with emotive passion and intertwines with electrifying guitar solos that will quite simply blow you away.
Play It Safe is a laid back acoustic driven track that sees the verses stripped right back to Kenny’s vocal, acoustic guitar and sublime piano strokes. The chorus sees the introduction of a brass section, the Northern String Quartet and fantastic backing harmonies that really bring the songs underlining message of something to look forward to the fore.
Rosanna sounds really funky and is the type of song that you’ll be dancing along to. The band have really put everything into this track, as it features a backing choir and trumpets whilst the guitars and pianos are given freedom to jam away and create incredible harmonies. Lyrically this is a song about someone in a relationship feeling unhappy, doesn’t feel they are being treated well and reaching breaking point.
Forever Without You is a waltzy ballad with dark lyrics, about losing loved ones. The song has a slow stomping pace, before exploding into a crescendo of fuzzy filled guitar hooks that drives on and on and is supported by heavy pounding drums and dramatic strings that will leave you awestruck, which provides real tension and drama to the album finale.
Delta Shakedown is a showcase of some incredible musicianship and a collection of songs that will define The Heavy North. They are a band who have established a loyal and passionate fanbase and it’s easy to see why. The Liverpool 6-piece have released an album of the year contender that will see them reach a greater audience and get the recognition they richly deserve.
Delta Shakedown is available to pre-save here.
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