The sounds of years gone by are alive and well. Capturing the spirit of moving to America and traveling far and wide across its lush lands, “Life and Life Only” by The Heavy Heavy is a must listen.
The Heavy Heavy is new on the block with only one album out. Do not let their young status deceive you, their instrumentation, orchestration and production are anything but juvenile.
“Life and Life Only” harkens back to sounds of the past, reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac and other great bands that perform a form of rock that transports the listener into a new world, with a sonic palette that is immense. The album as a whole is written by the band from Brighton, United Kingdom fantasizing about the life of a band on tour in the U.S. in the 60’s or 70’s.
The guitars dig in, but do not overshadow the full drum sound, airy keys, round bass or forward vocals. The album opens with “All My Dreams,” beginning with an underlying “B3” organ overlaid with a lively guitar riff before the track opens with harmonized moving vocals. The track swells and subsides with the energy exuded by it. The next unskippable track is “Miles and Miles.”
“Miles and Miles” discusses the vastness and potentially the troubles associated with such an arduous journey all over an energetic bed of music that brings to mind the sight of looking out the window on a road trip, seeing the mountain tops weave between each other as you make way down the road.
The album turns any drive into an adventure and any hike into a montage in a movie you are writing with each trail you decide to diverge down. “Go Down River” is not like any other song in recent years. Its production is faithful to the era it looks to represent.
The microphones are over-gained, the guitar is raw and drenched in reverb, the drums are full and the bassist has better hair than you could ever hope to.
It is an excellent tune to wrap up an exciting album that feels like an ode to what could have been in years past, a faux nostalgia if you will. “Life and Life Only” is an album any avid music fan should listen to with the best headphones or speakers they can find and drift away for an hour.
Rating 8.8/10
