The Heavy interview: We will kill it like we always do

Image: The Heavy 

Fresh from SXSW are Bath four-piece The Heavy who racked up an impressive seven performances at the festival in Austin, Texas.

The band are back in England for only a few weeks to mark the launch of their new record, Hurt and the Merciless with a preview show in London on Thursday 31st March.

Following that they will return to the states for an appearance at Coachella before embarking on an American and European tour.

Though their schedule may be merciless, there’s sure to be little hurt for a band that have a good ten years of touring under their belts.

In the run up to the album’s release on Friday, the band have received positive reaction for both ‘Since You Been Gone’ and ‘Turn Up’ (listen below), the first two singles released from the record.

The latter has even been used on the NCAA March Madness Basketball advert, spreading the sound of the Heavy even further afield. 

Latest single ‘What Happened To The Love’ is a rip roaring marriage of indie and soul with blaring horns, fierce guitars and screaming vocals.

It’s quite a contrast to what’s on offer from other indie bands and, along with the first two singles, it’s an indication that Hurt and The Merciless will be an extremely enjoyable listen.

That’s certainly on the minds of the band themselves, and on the eve its release they told Henry Lewis what fans of the Heavy can look forward to come Friday 1st April and beyond their subsequent tour.

What’s the reaction to 'Turn Up' been like?  You guys seemed pretty happy about it being used for the NCAA March madness video.

Obviously that side of things (the ad sync etc) is cool but it's the overall reaction to the album that I'm most interested in, otherwise it's like having a child and everybody saying how nice its foot is. I hope to be excited by people's reactions to the album as a whole.

How exciting is it in the few weeks before an album launch? You must be massively looking forward to April 1st and the release of Hurt and the Merciless?

I've kind of moved on from the excitement stage, we finished the record last summer and it was almost two years to make it. At this stage it's just a relief to get it out there.

What are you hoping to get out of the album launch show in Kingston on March 31st? Do you have to prepare a lot for a show like that? 

Not really. The band is tight as fuck. We will kill it like we always do...

What can fans of the Heavy look forward to from the new record?

Better songs. Better production. A real sense of a band playing in a room. Great artwork! More bangers!

It’s your fourth studio album, what, if anything has, been different this time round? Has there been any fresh input or any difference to the way you have gone about writing and recording the record?

Personally I attempted to write songs that would stand up if played on an acoustic guitar. I received an amazing sixties Gibson guitar as a gift from my wife and wrote all my songs on that.

The recording was more of a band in the room affair. We really wanted to capture the human energy at its source rather than attempting to recreate it in a computer.

How much has the musical landscape changed since you released your debut album almost ten years ago?

It appears to me to be getting worse unfortunately. Nobody (labels etc) knows what the fuck to do, nobody is willing to take a risk anymore, even the independents play it safe. I know great young bands that just can't catch a break for whatever reason and we end up with Adele...

You’re playing (at the time of writing) SXSW once again, how much do you guys love the festival and do you have a particularly special relationship with it?

We've had some great times there, it's crazy to think it was eight years since we first played there. It's not what it was the first time we went, there's something in the air on 6th in Austin during SXSW and it certainly ain't love....

You’re also set to play a string of dates in America (after the UK album launch shows) before you even head to Britain to tour the album. How honoured are you to have such a good following in America, being an English band?

Well it was the holy grail when we were starting out and now I wish they hadn't built it so far away!

Conversely, how excited are you to return to the UK in May?  

That's the best fun. Playing cities to audiences that really know their music, Manchester for example. If you can blow the roof off a Manchester audience on a Tuesday night you know you're doing something right.

I’d imagine the new album will dominate the set list of the tour, do you think Hurt and the Merciless will bring a new wave of fans to the Heavy’s gigs?

I really have no idea, I bloody hope so!

Find The Heavy's upcoming tour dates. 

Be in with a chance of seeing the The Heavy on tour and bag a copy of The Hurt and The Merciless via our competition.