Confidently vibing Tegan and Sara, Hey Lady! are equal parts the Black Keys with a dash of the fictional Clash at Demonhead. These two self-attributed babes from Newcastle have a lot of great elements going on in their music, spearheading the popular two piece grunge-blues aesthetic that has risen in popularity in recent years, and splicing in some carefully decided alternative and conceptual elements.
Hey Lady!’s second EP is offers up four ambitious and steadfast tracks, showcasing the dynamic range of their bluesy rock and super catchy riffs.
Since forming in 2011, Hey Lady! have received airplay of Triple J and played alongside the likes of Kingswood and The Superjesus. Their latest and greatest achievement today, a sophomore EP entitled My Head, My Heart, dutifully ties together the above elements with ARIA nominated producer Lachlan Mitchell. He helped the duo put down the EP at Jungle Studios and the crisp clear audio is critically acclaim-able, and this is just the sound quality we’re talking here, let alone the musical meat itself.
The title track pushes on at a mid-paced amble with the impressive vocals guiding the verses, and with each segment concluding with a hooky riff. Stef Threadgate and Jess Moxey are real femme fatales, adding an intangibility completely unobtainable by a male voice. The song rounds out with a little breakaway that mixes up the sound with some higher pitched notes.
Routine opens with a routinely awesome riff. This one is sure to get the crowd jumping without a doubt. The tonality possesses a certain masculinity that certain pea-brains would be surprised to hear from the shredding fingers of a woman, but as the rolling drum fills midway, building up the energy, it’s clear that Hey Lady! would have no trouble at all playing alongside such serious riff junkies as King of the North.
One Way Door brings in the grunge elements with its repetitious flanging guitar flairs and the cool mention of smoking cigarettes – the groove doesn’t let up, yet it’s so clear that it’s diamond cut. It then breaks into a heavy chorus with an impressive vocal range of husky moans projecting from lead singer and guitarist Jess. It’s voracious, and leads straight into the soft ebb of the atmospheric and conceptual Can’t Tell You. Here the mood instantly becomes sombre, and it’s a great song for the band to explore elements of progression, breaking the more traditional song structure of the previous tracks on the EP. It’s by far the most ambitious, vocal strong, and is the perfect way to round out a superbly strong release.
Hey Lady! are sure to inspire more talented female musicians into the male dominated rock and roll scene. After a heavy touring schedule in November the duo does not have any shows in the pipeline as of yet, but they are definitely ones to watch, and even feel intimidated by, if you’re a male rocker.
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