ALBUM REVIEW: Heavy Lungs – All Gas No Brakes (Alcopop! Records)
Heavy Lungs are a post-punk/noise-rock band from Bristol who formed in 2017, and this is their long-awaited debut album.
They haven’t had a lot in the way of releases to show for their time together so far, just three EPs and a split 7in with IDLES.
The IDLES track was Danny Nedelko, named after Heavy Lungs’ singer, and apart from being a banging tune, it helped raise the profile of their fellow Bristolian noisemakers.
Guitarist Oliver Southgate, drummer George Garratt and bassist James Minchall complete the line-up, and although they’re often likened to IDLES due to their background and the aforementioned single, they’re quite different bands.
Heavy Lungs spent time slowly growing their fanbase, picking up some high-profile fans along the way, including BBC 6music’s Steve Lamacq and Iggy Pop.
Tribal drumming
Recorded over a week at Holy Mountain Studios in London, the band spent the first six days laying down the huge guitar, bass and drums sound for this first long-player, before winding up their frontman for his vocal takes.
Their sound is driven by arhythmic – almost tribal – drumming, and features lots of scratchy guitar, big riffs and – like most good post-punk music – lots of repetition.
They come hurtling out of the traps with opening track Matryoshka (Russian Doll), which seems to be about finding hidden layers in people, and it’s followed by the title track, which was one of the tracks released as a single. It takes on extra meaning when you realise Nedelko is from the Ukraine.
Lead single Dancing Man is the shortest track here, clocking in at exactly two minutes, and it’s driven by a huge riff and spiky synth, with the song punctuated by what sound like huge screams in the background.
Mental health
Angle Grinder is as brutal as it sounds, and you almost wince as Nedelko sings “angle grinder, angle grinder to the knee”, but the song seems to be about fragile mental health, rather than dismemberment.
The middle section of the album is where Heavy Lungs really hit their stride, and Plagiarism is one of the standout tracks. It’s full of big riffs and catchy beats as Nedelko sings: “You said it first, I said it better/Catch me if you can, I’m the Gingerbread Man.”
Head Tilter, the third single, is about guilt, and it’s another standout. It starts with annoying video game music but normal service is soon resumed, with an insistent one-note riff, syncopated drums and one of the album’s best vocal performances, guttural at times.
Heavy Lungs are hitting the road in October 2023 for a run of UK headline tour dates in support of All Gas No Brakes. Their advice is ‘bring earplugs’, and after a few listens of this you’ll understand why. 7.5/10.
