You know how when you're at a live performance, they flash a little sign that says "APPLAUSE"? When Heavy Heavy Low Low takes the stage, they should flash a sign that says "WATCH THE FUCK OUT!" South Bay residents know what I mean, as HHLL plays prolific amounts of shows there, each the most violent and energetic things you've seen since Enter the Dragon, except the casualties are real. They've also released some CDs, though they aren't exactly studio masterpieces.
This new record is done better than its predecessors. The production is nice and clear, and pretty powerful as well. Many of the tracks on this album are remakes of older tracks, which Bay Area kids are familiar with, though the rest of the world will be hearing them fresh.
This is the first album put out by New Weatherman Records, Ferret's new imprint. A wider distribution will bring HHLL to households and pot circles they have never been to. Their influences from The Number Twelve Looks Like You, Daughters, Fear Before, and The Chariot are apparent, mixed with their youth (I don't think they're twenty yet) and easy-going, chronic'ed-out attitudes stand out from their more blood obsessed, tough-guy image-based peers in heavy music.
Despite their age and carefree approach, the band has clearly matured as a band (though not much as people). Having played live for a couple years, the energy they create together is a spastic entity, like Captain Planet on speed. The clarity of the recording process on this album, however, shows that they are becoming more musical and getting pretty good at their instruments. The guitar-work is improving and faster and the singer has developed a unique style, one that reminds me of Pee-Wee Herman throwing a temper tantrum but in the most musically suitable way.
If you and your friends want an album to smoke a chewie and kickbox to, this would be it. If you were looking for a serious, conceptual opus, look under the M section for Mastodon's Blood Mountain. And if you were looking for something to lure middle-schoolers into your shady, windowless van, pick up Aaron Carter's remastered greatest hits. But basically, for a spastic but chill band, HHLL is the obvious choice.
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C.L. '07 |
