June 2, 2008
It seems I've unintentionally started a movement for The Heys here in Tampa. It began, as most music related things do, with me sending friends links to MySpace pages of bands I like. Usually this results in a response of "Yeah, pretty cool!" or something equivalent. The Heys, however, have led to further follow-up emails along the lines of "I can't stop listening to these guys!" It seemed only reasonable then that we work with our friends at Planetary Group to get a copy of their debut album Youngbored&broke into the hands of two lucky RockSellout readers!
Even a quick minute with their new album Youngbored&broke will tell you why people are falling in love - The Heys produce Mod-Northern Soul-R&B-Rock with such seeming ease you'd think the guys were born from Paul Weller and Ray Davie's shared pint at a Gloria Jones show. It's not timeless in the sense it conjures a specific sound, but it is timeless in the sense it resists a dated sound - this is a fresh take for young Mods looking to let those scratchy old LPs have a breather. And one day Youngbored&broke will sit beside those beloved records, pulled out and played as a testament that good music can harken to a specific sound and a specific time yet still remain fresh for decades afterwards.
With all this in mind, we took the opportunity to ask The Heys a couple questions - some serious, some less so. Find out about the only job worth getting up for, breakfast at Burger King, and what to ask when having a pint with Paul Weller after the jump. And if you're up for getting a free copy of The Heys Youngbored&broke, then find out what you need to do after the interview!
Part I: We Get Serious:
Keath: How would you describe The Heys to new listeners?
The Heys: Er…That's hard when you are in it. Try: songs, guitars, voices, beat, honest, direct, uncomplicated, toe-tap, tunes.
Keath: Being in a band: harder than you thought or best job in the world?
The Heys: It's the only job in the world worth getting up for. Being in a band is the best. It's the only way of life.
Keath: What was the recording process like? A long slog or quick takes?
The Heys: Definitely quick takes. Doing it over and over again in the studio just sucks the life out of the thing. We rehearsed like fuck and were pretty ruthless with the bits. Then just recorded the vibe.
Keath: Which track off the new album is the most fun to play live?
The Heys: We've all got our favourites. And it depends on the night and the mood. Pressure is like riding a motorbike, Scene sums it all up, Elbow Culture is hairs on the back of the neck …
Keath: What is your favorite part of the process - writing, recording, or performing?
The Heys: That's a hard one too. Without live stuff what's the point? That's where you can give it and get it. That's where you start, its where you buzz. Its immediate. But then without the writing there isn't any live. And its really mental when you get a new tune. When you have something on your mind you just have to find a way to say it. Or a tune going round and round in your head driving you nuts and you have to try and catch it with your antennae. We used to record in professional studios but it only lead to great expense and disappointment. So we built our own set up in a small cellar with our 'puter and started having a laugh with it. We wanted to make the best album we could, that sounded like us in surroundings we felt comfortable in. So I guess it depends what your doing at the time 'cause that'll be your favourite.
Keath: You're already doing shows in the UK - will there be a North America tour for the new album too?
The Heys: We really wanna come and play!
Keath: The lyrics are fabulous - snapshots of working class life. Do they spark the music or the other way around?
The Heys: No rules it just depends, sometimes its both. When you get a good tune there doesn't seem any point wasting the lyrics. But at the same time they have to work and not fuck up the tune. We are not trying to preach or convert. We're a band. If people wanna think about it then cool, but it still has to be a song. We're just saying what we see.
Part II: We Get Less Than Serious:
Keath: Would you rather have a pint with Pete Townshend or Paul Weller? Bonus - I'll buy the round if you tell us the one question you'd most like to ask the one you picked.
The Heys: That's easy - Paul Weller! Alright Townsend's in The Who, but he is a bit of a cock. Paul, "That's a nice shirt, where did you get that from? Its your round"
Keath: Keith Richards - still the coolest man in rock or now just an old geezer wearing scarves with skulls on them?
The Heys: He's Keith Fookin Richards! He's in the Rolling Stones! He's the real deal. The genuine article.
Keath: I never eat at Burger King - do they have a good breakfast? (Note: if you don't understand this question, listen to the track "Youngbored&broke" at their MySpace page)
The Heys: Too right!
Keath: What's the one question I should have asked but didn't?
The Heys: "that's a nice shirt, where did you get that from? Its my round"
Like what you hear? Want a free copy of Youngbored&broke? We're picking two lucky winners - all you have to do is tell us what question you'd ask The Heys over a pint. Wednesday, we at RockSellout will pick our two favorites from the entries. You don't have to be super clever or witty, just let us know what you'd like to find out. Good luck!
- Keath (MySpace)
Posted on 06/02/2008 6:04 AM Comments (0)
http://strandedinstereo.com/music_theheys.shtml
By Miriam Lamey
The Heys' debut release, Young, Bored & Broke, has a title that's a tad misleading. One would think that this album is immaturely fuelled with righteous indignation, that the music transmits a lackadaisical vibe, and, finally, that The Heys are a bunch of martyred, starving musicians. I can't really vouch for the third implication, not personally knowing these blokes, but judging by the albums' well-constructed tunes and worldly persona, Young Bored & Broke is far from being "young" and "boring."
From the digs at instant-gratification-inspired society in the driving "Elbow Culture," to the Paul Weller-esque, jangly coolness of "Brighten Up My Day," The Heys present a clean, calculated album. The band hugs its classic rock influences, mainly The Jam and The Kinks, but not too tightly, making the sound inspired but clearly personal. Overall, the album plays with snappy guitar riffs – particularly on the aforementioned "Culture" – thick, resonant basslines and syrupy, accented vocals that fortunately refrain from being at all sweet or too dreary. This album certainly presents an upbeat vibe that's sure to keep the hipsters' heads disdainfully nodding.
The main appeal of Young Bored & Broke comes from the fact that The Heys transmit a solid rock and roll energy without acting unbridled and, well, spazzed out and uncouth. There's something inherently natural about their tunes, which gives the album a compelling sense of order and musicianship; it's hard to believe this is their first release. "Friday Night" nods to Hard Fi's tunes, but the guitars are clearer, the production and playing tighter; the overall track is driving, exciting and youthful with great intermittent background harmonies and utterly danceable, dusty riffs.
Young Bored & Broke's title track is certainly the best on the album. The anthemic tune kicks you right in the teeth with a retro-like driven riff and energized, yet even pace. This homage to crazy nights out and the subsequent evil hangover is far from sonically insane, and singer "Tom's" suavely accented vocals arch defiantly over the forceful guitars. With cool, matter of fact charm, he throws the chorus right back at the listener without being obnoxious, preachy, or just plain immature. And that seems to squarely describe The Heys; their album title may proclaim youthful heedlessness, but the band present smart, well-composed tunes that more than illustrate their mature musicianship. In other words, don't judge an album by it's, uh, title.
Posted on 06/02/2008 6:01 AM Comments (0)
houstonpress.com
The Heys, Youngbored&broke (4 West)
The Heys make no effort to conceal their love of the music that influenced them. Their debut Youngbored&broke will inevitably see some comparisons to Arctic Monkeys, which isn't too far off base: The Heys have the same melodic sense, much of the same muscle and something of the same energy. The difference is that the Heys sound grown-up, if not a little bit grizzled
So far as influences, one of the most evident is Damon Albarn's on frontman Tom Flynn (see the anthemic "Brightenupmyday.") Aside from this and Pete Townshend's stamp on almost all guitar lines, The Jam may have the most tangible influence here. However, The Heys have too much interest in their guitars to ever be pure missionaries of blue-eyed soul, so the Paul Weller lineage has to do with the huge power-pop hooks and the veneer of cynicism that causes this record to shine. "Elbowculture," a sharp-edged lament of a selfish society, is the lynchpin of this interpretation, while "Pressure" is an attack aimed at wasteful, empty nights and the ways we choose to try to dodge internalized turmoil. It's not Rimbaud, but it's honest, and its "ch-ch-changes" inspired yarn over heavy bass and OkGo-on-steroids guitars is irresistible.
In fact, what soon becomes apparent is that The Heys have studied and assimilated the whole of infectious Britpop: the wide open chord-riffing that opens the title track recalls Pulp, as do many of the lyrical themes (though it should be noted that Flynn, cognizant of the perils of trying to be Jarvis Cocker, avoids melodrama). When the band gets light-hearted, they can lay out sunny vocal harmonies and bouncy, hand-clapping bridges right alongside Supergrass ("Don't," "Getiton," "Scene"). They avoid the moody ways of Oasis (though they come close on "Fridaynight") and embrace the bittersweet sneer of London Suede ("Arms&legs,""Hey") while managing to inject the album with their own ripped power-pop ("Itain'tWotusay," the shimmering ballad "Breakdown").
The lyrics can edge toward heavy-handedness, but the heart is most definitely in the right place. If The Heys are just borrowing ideas to bide the time, they'll be gone by next year. But if what we're dealing with here is an upwardly mobile band, all hell could break loose the next time these guys enter the studio. – Chris Henderson
Posted on 06/02/2008 5:58 AM Comments (0)
http://www.indielaunchpad.com/il/2008/04/album-youngboredbroke-the-heys/
In all the years I've been heavily into music, there have been a few defining moments, that I can look back on and say, that was a good time in music history. For instance when Guns and Roses released the album Appetite for Destruction, or Nirvana released the album Nevermind. In the 90's the Brit pop wars saw great albums from Blur, Oasis, Dodgy and the Verve. Whilst there's been many albums since, there hasn't been anything that really evoked that same kind of feeling. Until now.
I first came across The Hey's via MySpace. The usual too and fro occurred and a week or so later, I popped the disk into my CD player and was soon blown away. There's a rawness that is all too easy to compare to Oasis, and a sense of pop that is easily to lay at Blur's feet, but there is also something else there, something that quite frankly I wasn't expecting. To put this into context, I play many, many albums, but it's not often I feel both exhausted and elated at listening to one in it's entirety. Straight out of the gate with "Fridaynight", it's hard not to want to move, stamp feet, or bash the steering wheel on the car, as if you're a virtual drummer in the band. For me though, one of the real defining tunes is "Elbowculture", with that hint of laddish youth, that brings back memories of my own youth, going out on the pull, drinking quantities of alcohol, that now quite frankly would have me talking to the great white telephone for an age, and playing the latest Sega Genesis and SNES games. Yes I know, I have dated myself terribly, but hey, some of that reckless youth, still lurks somewhere deep within.
The relentless pace continues with "Pressure" which rolls over you like a wave of electricity, jolting ever neuron in you brain. After such a strong start, it's nice that the album balances up and takes a breather with "Brightenupmyday". To move between two extremes is something of a gamble, that doesn't always work out, here though there's a common thread that weaves between all the tracks, fast or slow. At the beginning of title track "youngbored&broke", it kept threatening to break out into "Since You've Been Gone" by Rainbow. OK maybe that's just my jaded view, but I just love how just a few bars can evoke those kinds of flashbacks.
With 14 tracks, it's a really difficult album not to go through track by track and disseminate, but there's really no need. This really is an album that comes along once in a blue moon. I'd love it if this marked the resurgence of British dominance, but this time in the indie scene. I've nothing but good words to say about every one of the tracks on this album. I left this album with a sense of sheer excitement and just cannot wait to see where the bands goes next.
On a final note, I would love to go to a gig where the band was playing, as I have no doubt that sheer electricity of the album would be amplified greatly seeing them perform live. The dogs bollocks, make no mistake.
Conclusion : I've made no secret in the podcast, that this is one absolutely phenomenal album. If this isn't a band destined for great things, then there's no justice in the world. Regardless of who you're a fan of, if you like good rock and pop, this is a must have in your collection…. yes I'm talking to you. Pick up a copy NOW!
Colin Meeks - Editor
Posted on 06/02/2008 5:51 AM Comments (0)
NEWS FROM 4WEST RECORDS
March 21, 2008 – 11:41 am
The Heys album youngbored&broke entered the CMJ Top 200 chart at 144.
Stations currently playing it include: WFDU (5,) KFAI (18,) WDBM (23,) WLHS (4,) Lasell College Radio (5,) KSYM (7.) WQAQ, WRRG, WRSE, and WDWN.
April 3, 2008 – 12:42 pm
The Heys album "youngbored&broke" has moved up to 136 on the CMJ Top 200 Chart this week!
Hollister Co. and Abercrombie & Fitch will be using music from The Heys on their websites. Look for cover art, audio, and links. Exact dates have yet to be determined.
Posted on 06/02/2008 5:46 AM Comments (0)
Physical CD available from all good stores across the USA and Canada and digitally through i-tunes and other digital download companies from April 29th 2008
Posted on 06/02/2008 5:45 AM Comments (0)
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The Heys
leamington spa warks, United Kingdom
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