With a well received self-titled EP from 2021 under their belt, London's The Heat Inc return with a full length debut album 'Asleep In The Ejector Seat', ten tracks and thirty-six minutes of unbridled rock 'n' roll bound to put a bounce in your step and 'rock your day'. London's self-proclaimed loudest rock 'n' roll band goes some way to verifying that claim with pounding drums (courtesy of Maurizio Vitale), surging bass (Nico Rigot) and punchy guitars (Marco Simoncelli) all topped by Jon Dodd's deep resonant vocals with its Nick Cave - Pete Murphy inflections, on an album full of dark yet catchy tunes with classic rock, punk, indie and a touch of goth all present. It's an album that you can take to your heart immediately and bears repeated plays.
'Souvenir' is a storming opener to 'Asleep In The Ejector Seat' with rumbling bass and forceful guitar driving the song onwards into the next tune, 'Draw Blood For Proof', a fantastically catchy tune with its 'boot-boy' chanted choruses and swinging rhythm leading a song that should have many a gig jumping. The charging 'Akasaka Murder Squad', tough sounding 'L.K.C.' ('Little Knuckle Charlie') and 'Ms Willie Mae' show The Heat Inc at their heaviest with hard hitting riffs and powerful drums while '98' and the Britpoppy 'Get Wild' (a dead ringer for Suede) has infectious choruses a-plenty and an anthemic feel to them interspersing chugging, low-slung verses with those soaring choruses. There's some great finger-picking bluesy guitar on 'This Thing Called Love' while 'Samson' is another of those songs that slides menacing verses into charging choruses that the band does so well. After all that 'blitzkrieg' rock 'n' roll, the album closes on an affecting ballad - 'Ultraviolence' - a classic lighters-aloft number complete with chiming acoustic guitars and underlying piano work.
'Asleep In The Ejector Seat' is a great debut album from a band that promises much and The Heat Inc should build on the plaudits received over the last couple of years with this opening full-length offering. Surging rock 'n' roll of the best variety mixed with hooky choruses and great playing and singing all add up to 'Asleep In The Ejector Seat' being an album well worth checking out if you are unfamiliar with the band and picking up if you have been following them. We look forward to hearing what comes next from this talented outfit.
'Asleep In The Ejector Seat' is out on Friday (28th July 2023), available on all the major digital sites. There is a limited run of 300 'Milky Clear with Black Smoke Effect' LPs available from https://www.roughtrade.com/.../asleep-in-the-ejector-seat