I'm dedicating this blog post to a band I recently found on the new Apple Music service (more about this later). They're called Highly Suspect & if you're a rock lover & looking for something away from the contemporary garbage you hear almost every day, then it'll be Highly Suspicious (sorry) if you don't fall in love with these guys.
With all the censorship in the media & bands having to tone it down a notch or two in order to be considered for public broadcast, which is almost always a requirement in order to make it today, it is uncommon for a band to put all that aside & simply say 'f*ck it, we're doing it our way'. And that's exactly what Highly Suspect have done, & its refreshing. I've been so sick & tired of having to scour the net for real rock music because all i'm presented with on radio or tv is toned pop. Highly Suspect have broken the mould & presented themselves exactly for who they are, hard as f**k.
The band is a threesome comprising of twins Rich & Ryan Meyer on bass & drums respectively & then the front man Johnny Stevens on guitar & vocals. Their sound is sort of cluster f**k of Black Key's, Queens of the Stone Age & Royal Blood but with more f-bombs then all of them combined. But done subtly though. They don't seem out of place or forced, in fact they add a layer of emotion to the tracks which only Johnny could express.
Before I go on any further, familiarise yourself with their live version of their single 'Lydia' below:
Their lyrics are dark & so are their themes. Their debut album 'Mister Asylum' is a mixture of simple riff's with breakneck build-up & drops & then also highly complex guitar pieces with soaring melodies. In all instances there is no attempt at mediocracy, which the record industry loves so much. One of their tracks is even called 'F**k Me Up'.
Since their albums debut on the 17th July they have already made a wave in the rock world & I am confident that with such a powerful debut, they won't be pushed aside with the countless one-hit-wonders. Their sound has a uniqueness which separates them from the rest & if they keep on the same track I for one will be listening to their music for a long, long time to come.
Here's a video to their newest single Claudeland, dedicated to a friend of theirs 'Claude' who recently, by Johnny's own admission, had hit a low, low point.
Do yourself a favour & give these guys a listen. Get their album here. In all honestly, we haven't had rock like this since the 90's.
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