Chances are, if you like your rock on the noisier and filthier end of the spectrum, you’ve already heard of Heavy Lungs. And if you haven’t you’ve perhaps already heard of their vocalist, Danny Nedelko – he of IDLES’ “Danny Nedelko” fame. If you fall into neither of those camps, there’s no time like the present to fix it. Hell, even with a band name like Heavy Lungs, you know you’re going to get something more in the noise realm rather than twin guitars going through the pentatonic scale.
There’s definitely moments of noise and dissonance on All Gas No Brakes. But for their debut album, the Bristolians have aimed more for the post punk angle. It’s still angry and verges on moments of violence, mixed with a dark humour (you can tell IDLES are a massive influence) and the album definitely lives up to its name. The four-piece generally don’t hit the brake pedal across the eleven tracks and whilst it’s not all-out aggression, you’re not going to be using this album to lull a crying baby back to sleep.
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Opener “Matryoshka” (Russian for “little matron” – nesting dolls) has Nedelko spitting out his vocals in rough, raspy bursts which transform into bellows at times. They’re pinned against a droning guitar and filthy bass for a loud introduction if you’ve not heard the preceding three EPs. It’s not the hardest song on the album but you can hear the hints of what’s to come and sounds like the band winding up, getting ready to make their full and proper assault. There’s an underlying danger to the song, bubbling under the surface which pokes its head above the water when Nedelko’s screams kick in to match the guitar lurching up several gears before settling down for a breather. However, there’s a reprise of the melody at the end after a hard cut and makes for a jarring end to the song. It’s a technique revisited on “Plagiarism” albeit this time it’s sounds reminiscent of 80s video games. The juxtaposition of this one is even more discombobulating as it’s so different from the main body of the song.
But if that’s the only niggle of an album, then it barely counts as a fault; it’s simply one slight bit of fat that should have been trimmed away since these elements don’t add anything. Elsewhere, the title track is full of swagger, it’s got a fat groove to it which does most of the heavy lifting against a jagged but subtle piece of guitar work. But once it hits the chorus, it explodes into life, overpowering everything else without being an unwelcome visitor. “Head Tilter” is another one which plays with groove, it’s more boisterous when it lifts though with chugging guitar and even a couple of proper solos which are laden with fuzz. As the band examine the notion of guilt and how it comes in waves and gnaws at you, they’ve captured the mood of it. There’s a sense of disdain and regret baked into the music, Nedelko’s vocals thick with his own disgust.
There’s also the manic moment of “Dancing Man” where one sentence is repeated several times. Blood-curdling background screams punctuate Nedelko’s own angst-ridden delivery with synth moments crashing into doom-ridden guitar and stomping drums. “2 Hot 2 Ride” allows the band to show off their sense of humour by listing off every car manufacturer with a hot hatch favoured by boy racers and despite the snarky title, there’s not a single mention of family. Regardless, it hammers along at a breakneck pace, bolstered by gang vocals and the sort of intensity you’d find on the hardest punk rock bands.
Meanwhile, “Late to the Party”, “It’s Been” and “Rock, Paper, Scissors” are the moments when the band really lean into the noise element. Full of loud, brash guitars which have several layers of fuzz on them, they whine and snarl in equal measure. Vocals are barked at times, especially on “Rock, Paper, Scissors”, its buzz saw-like melody providing an ample framework for them. It’s these three songs which has the band at their most aggressive (“2 Hot 2 Ride” notwithstanding) and whilst musically, it’s them at their most straightforward, it’s just as captivating as the more sophisticated moments found on the album and a full album of this would likely grow stale by the halfway mark.
For a band that draw on their own experiences, Heavy Lungs don’t wallow in their misfortune. And for a band like this, it would be very easy for them to get political and take aim at society’s ills but it would almost be pastiche at that point. What come through is the real sense that they’re a gang and a unit, an “us against the world” mentality that most bands simply don’t have anymore. All Gas No Brakes may not reinvent the post-punk/noise genre but this is a worthy addition to anyone’s collection. Because when it’s done this good, it doesn’t need a new take on it.
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Header image by Lucy Werrett
All Gas No Brakes is released on 29th September
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