The Heavy North – Delta Shakedown

Classic – a work of art of recognized and established value. judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind.

Let’s get this straight from the start, The Heavy North are not an indie band, they are a Classic Rock band in the purest tradition of what came before. They are part The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Early Fleetwood Mac, The Black Crowes, Cream, the list goes on and on, blues, soul Maximum R N’ B you get the idea.

They are not Parka Monkeys or Brit Poppers, Jingle Jangle, Shoegaze or Dream Pop. They are Rock with a capital R.

There is of course nowt wrong with any of the Indie types I have mentioned, I probably spend 50% of my time listening to such, but to lump THN into any of these genres is doing them a huge disservice because they are so much more then that, so much more.

When I started writing about New Music back in the old world, I wanted to write about music and artists and people that excited me and were cool and made me want to shout about them to everyone and everywhere I could.

THN fitted into that description with ease.

I don’t think I’ve come across a band in the last 25 years or more that has had such a major impact on my music life as the 6 lads from Liverpool. Maybe not since the days of The Stone Roses have I spent so much time listening to a band, but also going to see play live and getting to know them personally has been a huge privilege to me (and many others), I mean Kenny even wore one of my Tee Shirts in a video for forks sake – not sure I will ever get over this if I’m being honest.

I’ve eagerly awaited each release with the excitement that I hadn’t felt since my teenage years, when I last wrote about them and saying how the release matched the anticipation of an Oasis release or similar, a Troll suggested how could I compare such to them, missing the point entirely.

So here’s the rub, how can I review Delta Shakedown from an objective and fair point of view? Am I too close to it now? Are my loyalties and integrity been compromised? What can I say about it that hasn’t already been said?

Does it really matter?

Thus I came to the decision that I would write about the album and here it is!

In short Delta Shakedown is a classic, an instant classic, the kind of album that bands dream to make – its probably as an important second album as Oasis released back in the day (Yes Troll I went there again).

It takes over from the amazing debut Electric Soul Machine and ramps up the quality even more – side by side they are probably the best first two albums released by any band ever. High Praise or misguided hyperbole from a guilty as charged Fan Boy. Well yes that is what I am and I will stand by this statement forever. Stop reading if this bothers you.

Maybe Led Zep 1 & 2 are comparable? Maybe that Oasis lot did a good job of it? The Doors and The Stooges yeah I’ll say they did too, but there are not too many others (I’ll let you tell me who else did this).

As for the songs themselves – well I could deep dive into each one and tell you how amazing they all are – why they manage to pull in all the influences I’ve mentioned and plenty more but whilst also keeping their own identity and knack for writing Classic Rock Soul Funk Gospel that lifts you out of your seat and fills your heart with joy and love whilst Air Guitaring in the kitchen.

However I will let you find all that out for yourself when you listen to it and purchase it and see it performed live and how in these dark times they are one of a few shining lights that have the ability to bring people together, share a common moment with and leave us all mind blown and gobsmacked.

Thus I end by saying that for now they are our band, Our Stones, Our Cream, Our Pink Floyd, Our Stax records and on and on.

Put quite simply they are The Heavy North and soon they will be the Worlds.

Peace N Love

Michael

Delta Shakedown is available now in may formats via their website:

https://www.theheavynorth.com/

They play the Camp & Furnace in Liverpool on the 1st December and this will be a special moment in time so get your tickets NOW:

https://www.seetickets.com/event/the-heavy-north/camp-furnace/2586041