Words: Karen Hetherington
Pictures: Adrian Hextall \ MindHex Media
Hot on the heels of me sampling and reviewing their latest production “Change Your Position” I had the opportunity to take in the live Tax the Heat experience at their London album launch held in ‘The Islington’ – an intimate and atmospheric London venue which I am reliably informed also played host to the launch of their debut album.
[UK Editor: Here’s our interview with the band on the day the Debut album launch show took place:]
Naked Six
Warming up the crowd was two piece band Naked Six and what they lack in terms of personnel they certainly make up for in attitude. Featuring [Son of Biff] Seb Byford on guitar and vocals and Tom Witts on drums they steam rolled through their high octane set with unrelenting energy and a huge dose of edgy anarchy. For anyone new to this band like myself they did not fail to make an impression, the audience were practically eating them up as they stomped along to the hard rocking vibes.
Hailing from York, Naked Six have a huge sound and would not be readily comparable to any other act. They have a new spin on rock and made me hugely appreciative that I get the opportunity to stumble upon brilliant new music, by accident…
Tax The Heat
As Tax the Heat have already accumulated a considerable following, it was little wonder that the album launch was sold out and after a brief turnover between bands they emerged into a space which was packed to capacity to front an enthusiastic crowd eagerly waiting to hear the latest offering. The new album was played in its entirety before the band launched into some of the material from their debut (Fed to the Lions) which the enthralled crowd were notably more familiar with.
Much as I appreciated the album I feel that the Bristol based quartet are a band who need to be seen live to be fully appreciated, their quirky take on vintage style looking strangely out of place in comparison to the sound they produce which in my opinion is an altogether new breed of rock, many of their songs having anthemic qualities which catch you on first listen – If you strain you can hear their influences but they are echoes only, classic rock this is not!
“Change Your Position” was massively well received by the crowd and perhaps predictably, the highlight of the set for me was also the highlight of the album. “The Symphony has Begun” began as I stood on the peripheral of the room, pushed out by the intense heat [I presume the heat was taxing? Comedy Ed] and while I may not have seen it played at close quarters, the performance was certainly not lost on me, being melodic and pitch perfect – in line with the rest of their set which also featured their single “All that Medicine”, a track which has been getting regular play on Planet Rock.
Tax the Heat have that exquisitely well rehearsed sound that comes from relentless touring and now with two albums worth of material under their belt they have a full schedule lined up for Spring which will undoubtedly see their fan base expand much further still…
A full UK Tour follows in April:
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