“No Good”, by Liverpudlian quintet The Heavy North, is a real blues/alternative-rock gem that features refined-yet-punchy guitars that recall the gutsy blues-rock sound of The Raconteurs – and to some degree Rival Sons – and nods to the authentic blues-rock influence whilst the band manage to imprint their own identity on the rock template, making for a sound that is familiar to rock fans, yet refreshing in the sense that the band inject a British-rock twist into proceedings.

The first thing that listeners notice is the sublime mix that delivers a wide-sonic sound; making the band sound big, despite the lack of overdrive or distortion – this demonstrates remarkable skill from the band and studio team as they make such a clean style sound huge. Recognition for this goes to Jose Ibanez at 3rd Planet Recording Studio – who recorded and produced the song – and also to Martin Kuchta at Rough Grain Mastering, who then mastered it. The Heavy North evidently made the right call, as the end result is a song that sounds timeless: the style of it would make it hard to realise that the song was released this year, rather than during the ’70s – the only real hint at its recent origins are the slick, modern production that gives the song its smooth polish.

Dissecting the song further, we particularly love the vocals; these are melodic and well-suited to the style. There’s a feeling that the singer reserves some energy and focuses on delivering a fitting performance that is full of genuine soul – this is a wise move as it adds to the overall vibe of the recording and, in our minds, brings to mind a blues band playing in a darkened music venue, late at night, on a dimly-lit stage with wisps of cigarette smoke coming from a seated audience – as one would see in old films. For us, this shows that The Heavy North clearly know who they are and what musical direction they wish to purse and, consequently, they will be a force to be reckoned with as we see them going from strength to strength.

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