If you’re going to play retro music well, you have two choices. You put an intriguing spin on your anachronisms. Or you create something that feels like it could be a lost classic from your chosen era. Brilliant new Brighton-based rock quintet the Heavy Heavy do both. There’s an obvious kinship with the comforting close harmony psych, folk and blues of the 60s, but they write and play music with that lick of madness that makes early Fleetwood Mac and peak Stones so thrilling.
Mini-masterpieces such as All My Dreams shimmer through a day flooded by sunlight, with darkness lapping at its edge. Their most popular song is the reflective pastoral Go Down River, but everything that Will Turner and Georgie Fuller’s band have produced has a similar timeless quality. They’re songs that aren’t afraid to pack a lot into a short span, but all is tastefully judged, feeling instinctive rather than laboured. Extravagant, squally riffs interrupt jaunty organ stabs; voices weave in and out of each other imperceptibly.
The Heavy Heavy’s debut EP, Life and Life Only, was released just a few weeks ago, but already the band have been to the US to perform on a network TV morning show, and will go back in September for an extensive tour. By the time they return home they’ll be a real thing of beauty to experience.
The Heavy Heavy play Rough Trade West, London W11 on 9 August
