I just got a hold of Chicago reprobates Heavy Times' 3rd record Fix It Alone (out on the inimitable Hozac Records). The breakneck punk that permeates these eighteen tracks hits you like the Ebola virus, but rather than eradicating your immune system, these tracks fortify your soul, line your stomach and heal your liver - who needs diseases when Man's most dangerous predator is himself? Fix It Alone is a finely tuned beast, showcasing rambunctious yell-alongs ('Ouija Board', 'Kidnapped', 'Trouble Walker'), dark lurking sleaze ('Night Looks', 'In My Sleep'), champagne-edition ballbreaking knucklebusters ('Future Creeps', 'Daylight'), lairy sun-drenched good times ('American Love', 'River's Edge')... It's so infectious it should have its own visceral, wretch-inducing label slapped on the cover - for this album is surely more addictive than any other drug placed on this earth. Ramones, Wipers, Black Lips, MC5 - their ghosts (present and past) all knock on the door, desperate to join the Heavy Times party. Cooper Crain (Bitchin' Bajas/CAVE)'s production is excellent, elevating the album yo even loftier heights. Such unashamed punk shouldn't be this pristine - yet in another world Heavy Times would be on the panel of The X Factor. Drunken pop doyens with a sprinkling of barbed wire, Heavy Times are looking good, and with Fix It Alone, are dressed to kill.
Fix It Alone can be gleaned from here. Heavy Times are launching this at The Empty Bottle tonight alongside the excellent Oblivians - if you are in the area, there is nothing else you need to do but be at that show.
Heavy Times - River's Edge
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