Heavy Feather – Mountain Of Sugar
Release Date: 9th April 2021
Label: The Sign Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Classic Rock (60s, 70s).
FFO: Free, Mountain, Avatarium, Greta Van Fleet, Blues Pills.
Review By: Kenny Newall
Sweden’s Heavy Feather list Cream, Coven, Led Zeppelin and Lynyrd Skynyrd amongst their influences and more specifically Free as the band they sought to emulate when they formed. And it’s not just the music, it’s the whole aesthetic from clothes and hair to artwork and lettering. And although this is primarily a metal website, I personally listen to just as much classic rock as metal so this is right up my street. (I like opera too, though who gives a shit).
Mountain of Sugar, the follow on from their eminently listenable debut, Débris & Rubble has a heavier sound, though similar style this time round. Like the difference between Sunshine Of Your Love and All Right Now. So the more obvious Coven or Janis influence on the debut is now only to really be found in the vocals, not the music. Though the drumming is similar in places and in fact the drumming is a highlight. “Busy,” is how the band describe it and although Ola Göransson doesn’t wander round the kit on a constant fill like Ginger, Moon or Mitch, he lays down a perfect canvas for the rest of the band to then leave space for him to play with. And yes, there’s cowbells aplenty.
The influences are obvious, but HF manage to stay on the right side of the sounds like, not is line. Steal from the best and then melt it down some to disguise the origins. And though they don’t mention them, Mountain are the band they remind me of the most. Some Jefferson Airplane too, especially closer, Asking in Need which has a bit of a White Rabbit vibe in places. HF do also want to sound modern as well as previous, much like their compatriots Blues Pills, but for me it’s the classic rock I’m hearing. Not so much retro as actual. But I’m not complaining as I dig their grooves.
Apart from the guess who this sounds like game that you can’t really get away from on the first few listens, HF keep things interesting with a mix of dynamics. Mostly mid-tempo, there’s a couple of slower tracks and a couple that up the oomph somewhat as well as a variation of melodic styles all of which are reflected in the 4 singles released so far. Guitar solos are there too, but not dominant. I assume Richie Blackmore isn’t that big an influence.
That being said, their influences have given us Disraeli Gears, Zep IV, the Skynyrd debut and Fire And Water. (Coven, not so much with the album, but the song White Witch Of Rose Hall is one of my all time favourites). So it’s perhaps not surprising any rating will reflect the benchmark laid down all those years ago. Though with that having been said, this is an enjoyable listen and they still exist so once covid has fucked off enough, we can see them live. I would.
Miscellaneous thoughts: Off the top of my head Jerusalem are only Swedish classic rock band I know from the 60s or 70s. Europe formed in 1979 if that counts. So I can see why it’s America and Britain HF look to.
Mountain of Sugar may bring to mind Neil Young’s Sugar Mountain, but HF sound nothing like that. In case anyone was wondering.
Sometimes I Feel may not be their best song, for me that’s Bright In My Mind (video below), but, along with Rubble, it’s the closest they come to sounding like Free.
I’ve been wondering if the name Heavy Feather is a Zen thing, but I think it’s maybe more a throwback to the 60s hippy past where it sounds mystical, but is actually just bullshit. Or maybe I’m too thick to get it. But who cares as it sounds good. The book title, Shadow of the Wind confuses me in the same way. But again, who cares as it’s a great read.
(3.5 / 5)
