Sprints release the new single ‘Heavy’
Dublin rock band Sprints have released their new song, ‘Heavy’, the final offering before the new album.
The track precedes their debut record, Letter To Self, which arrives on January 5th via City Slang. The new effort follows the previous singles ‘Adore Adore Adore’, ‘Shadow of a Doubt’, ‘Literary Mind’ and ‘Up and Comer’.
Discussing ‘Heavy’, vocalist Karla Chubb says: “If [album opener] ‘Ticking’ is the sonic iteration of anxiety, then ‘Heavy’ is its literal counterpart. The brutally cacophonous sound communicates how it feels to be paralysed and inspired by anxiety, pairing intrusive thoughts, panic and intensity with that anxiety-inducing build.”
The song’s verse riff is eerily similar to that of Bauhaus’ widely influential 1979 goth anthem, ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’ – albeit rattled off at a quicker pace – over which Chubb sings lines such as, “Do you ever feel like the room is heavy? Like the air is hot, and the air is sweaty?”
Following the verse, the track explodes into a cacophony of uncomfortable noise, with the over-prominent, overdriven lead guitar line a foil to Chubb’s wailing voice. It then moves back into the verse, wherein the singer’s vocals become gradually more frenetic.
Yet, for all of this track’s claims to be heavy, the talking is not done on the instruments but in the press pack, with what’s promised being much different from what is heard. There’s nothing really brutal about it, and while the cacophony of sound is adroit in recalling the chest pangs of intense anxiety, it actually just veers into the realm of being painful, but not in an artful way.
The band also appears open about the influences on ‘Heavy’. Chubb says: “Heavily inspired my early Bauhaus records and PJ Harvey’s ‘Is This Desire?’, it draws a heavy influence from ’80s gothic – the purposeful space reflecting the isolating nature of panic.”
However, when it comes to Bauhaus, the term “heavily inspired” doesn’t do it justice, as there’s a difference between influence and straight-up pinching a riff, particularly one that is so notable, and no mere tempo change can mask that.
Watch the video for ‘Heavy’ below.
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