Heavy Drapes: The Most Rock ‘n’ Roll Curtains You’ll Ever Come Across
Heavy Drapes – Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom.
After ‘imploding’ at a 2008 gig in Edinburgh, old school Punk-Rock ‘n’ Rollers, Heavy Drapes, have reformed after years out of action. Now they’re writing new material, they’re in the studio and they’re still performing the sporadic gig in between writing.
Taking influence from Iggy & The Stooges (Raw Power is such a noisy album and I love it) and the Sex Pistols, as well as making their own three-chord steel gauntlets, the band are taking on the DIY aesthetic as comfortably as they can; doing their own thing and creating their music honestly. These are the guys are keeping it “pure”.
And when you see the image for their single ‘Should I Suck Or Should I Blow’ – an edited photo of Lindsay Lohan shot by the infamous Terry Richardson – you know they’ve got something going for them.
Now, onto the music:
‘Muchos Respectos (Remix)’ in parts actually reminds me of some Minutemen songs, as it’s bass-heavy and I love those parts of the song where the bass is more prominent, because – as with Minutemen – it makes this track stand out more.
The guitars blend together and work well, I just find the bass riffs more exciting. The guitars are comfy though; they’re solid, sitting behind the vocal track shouting out ‘MUCHOS RESPECTOS!’ – I can see their influences wearing well.
‘Hanging Like a Suicide’ is like that song you know your dad is going to “rock-out” to with a couple of pints in him at the local pub Christmas gig. The guitar slide at the beginning and the one that leads into solo may be slightly cheesy, but that’s what Heavy Drapes are. They are the sound of yesterday come back to life, because aren’t things only cheesy in retrospect?
Anyway, it’s fun, so there you go.
‘Into the Blue’ is my favourite.
It starts off like an Adam And The Ants song – think Dirk Wears White Sox era -but then moves on into a territory more familiar to a late 80s early 90s Punk song, but the ‘sha la la’ backing vocals would argue 1970. The piano in the background of the chorus is a nice touch; it’s always nice to see an extra addition to the old Punk dynamic palette.
And of course, you’ve got your guitar slide into solo madness that I might be getting used to now – they even hit some early Blondie vibes on ‘Maladjusted’, and come to a sing-a-long territory on the chorus to ‘Should I Suck Or Should I Blow’, which I’m sure is going to become the band’s anthem amongst the fans.
Heavy Drapes can promise callbacks to old-school Punk Rock with a “punk will never die” attitude. Give them your support by liking them on Facebook and listening to them on SoundCloud.
#StayFresh
