ALBUM REVIEW: All Gas No Brakes – Heavy Lungs

Known for their post-punk and noise-rock fusion, abstract song subjects, that one time frontman Danny Nedelko got electrocuted on stage, and being good ol’ pals with IDLES,  HEAVY LUNGS are releasing their debut album after six years in action. All Gas No Brakes is equal parts making light of bad situations, crippling anxiety and all or nothing attitude. After several attempts to come to a conclusion for their debut album the quartet have finally arrived at All Gas No Brakes.  

Matryoshka opens with Nedelko‘s unfiltered vocals and the words “Don’t worry son, it’s not over yet” instilling the dread of a toxic middle aged man, followed by title track All Gas No Brakes which embraces a bounciness and bravado. The titular track is appropriate for the coming of the debut as it marks a change in HEAVY LUNGS’ attendance, not only that but it feels like a prideful return for the quartet. Tracks like these and Dancing Man are what remain with the nonsensical element of HEAVY LUNGS’ music, the part that remains pure fun. 

One thing is clear: the material present on All Gas No Brakes will soar when it comes to HEAVY LUNGS’ live shows. Nedelko is boisterous on stage and in the crowd, and there are plenty of tracks that lend themselves to the intensity of the live effort. Angle Grinder has a chorus that can captivate a room as if all the doors were to disappear, the sudden change in tempo perfect to queue a pit to collapse in on itself before the track fades out for dramatic effect. 

Sometimes People Just Explode bottles a frustration that with each time a chord is struck it feels closer to bursting, unleashing all of its worth as far as it will reach. This being one of the tracks that showcases one of Bristol’s most promising act’s worth, they have an unwillingness to release a body of work that sticks to a repetitive formula when it comes to structure, the biggest killer amongst promising bands is boredom after all.

Some outfits have the tendency to get stuck in the same rhythm, lulling listeners into straying from their music but the sheer amount dynamic sounds and elasticity that HEAVY LUNGS operate with throughout All Gas No Brakes is promising for post-punk in the UK which is becoming increasingly similar to stand still traffic on the motorway.

Rating: 9/10

All Gas No Brakes is out now via Alcopop! Records.

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