With this San Diego psych trio, Heavy Glow, now signed to German imprint Kozmik Artifactz, both their last album, 2014’s independently released Pearls & Swine and Everything Fine, and their rarer 2010 EP, The Filth & the Fury, are being properly reissued. Not sure if they’re being sold separately or merged onto one recording, but I slightly suspect the latter.
Unfortunately, the first five tracks here aren’t a bunch of fuzzed-out Sex Pistols covers (although they’d probably be a lot cooler if they did). Filth & Fury’s output is more aligned with the likes of Grand Funk, Blue Cheer and Humble Pie. They really kick out the retro riffs on “Love Ghost,” a heavy power ballad that screams 1972, while “Red July” contains a badass bluesy solo.
Pearls & Swine opens up with a solid mid-paced march in “45 Shakedown.” The first three tracks maintain roughly the same tempo, and while there are nods to the ’70s scattered throughout, I’m also getting a bit more of a Collective Soul vibe here from the vocals and the warmer production. “Fat Cat” has a bass-heavy verse a la “Another One Bites the Dust,” albeit with a laid-back, sing-songy chorus that reminds me more of The Lone Crows. We actually get another rendition of “Love Ghost” here, although this one lacks the fire of the earlier version.
Based on the softer elements of their most recent record (which I hadn’t heard until now), I’m not sure the next one will make it onto my radar.
