"Heavy Living" by the relatively new UK outfit named Dirty Thrills completely took me by surprise in that I am so used to receiving rather slick and melodic 80s-inspired (hard) rock from Frontiers Records, but this is something else entirely. We are talking raw, unfiltered rock in the grand old tradition of Led Zeppelin and Coverdale-era Purple. Even Free, Bad Company, and Uriah Heep come to mind at times.

 

Dirty riffs galore, haunting vocals with a tinge of melancholy to them, crashing drums, killer bass lines, and even a bit of fucked-up harmonica are what is on offer here, folks. There is plenty of groove to this rumbling beast of an album and it is an exciting musical venture pretty much from stormy opener "I’ll Be With You" to the entertaining album closer "Get Loose". The mellow "Lonely Soul" is a moving piece while the crushing "The Brave" attains something akin to an epic edge. Vocalist Louis James pours his heart and soul into the tunes and the rest of those ugly fuckers that make up the band are right behind him. Wonderful stuff!

As exemplified by the rousing "Go Slow" and the bluesy "No Resolve", the music is organic and hook-laden. It actually sounds like it was recorded back in 1971 or thereabout, which is obviously a great thing. There is not a shred of originality to be found on "Heavy Living", just so that we are clear on that, but the quality of the songs speaks for itself here and if those first couple of Led Zeppelin albums still reign supreme to you, then there is no way around checking "Heavy Living" out. It was never meant to carve out new musical ground anyway; it was meant to revisit the glory days of rock and take us all back to a time when passion and a sense of danger actually meant something. Keep an eye out for this excellent album and do whatever it takes to catch these guys live on tour somewhere!