If you're heard the new single 'Drums' from Oh Mercy, you'll have a good idea as to what's in store on their new album, 'Deep Heat'. Think 'Drums' - and then take things up a notch or two.
Singer Alex Gow and the band have kicked the cool up a notch. This whole album is a little more "adult" than 'Great Barrier Grief' (2011) and 'Privileged Woes' (2009) - which is not to say they don't have their fair share of racy content ('Blue Lagoon', anyone?). But 'Deep Heat' is practically lathered in sexiness; it oozes with sultry horns, goovy bass lines and spine-shivering piano.
OH MERCY - DRUMS
The title track kicks the album off in precisely that fashion - its loose bass guitar drives the tune along, and Alex practically pouts his way through the song. All ten tracks of 'Deep Heat' follow a similar path - it's a progressively infectious album you'll find it hard not to sing or dance along to.
It's an album from another era; we trek back decades to a time before manufactured pop, with touches of the 70s and 80s throughout many of the songs. 'My Man' (apparently the first song Alex wrote that wasn't autobiographical) has a funky 'Rock The Casbah' feel to it, while 'Fever' brings out Gow's bad side, as he sings in competition with a rough sax: "Some people said I was good, other people said I was great."
We trek back decades to a time before manufactured pop, with touches of the 70s and 80s.
Without a doubt, this is a deliberate step away from Oh Mercy's previous work. It's a different aspect of the band which brings out previously unseen qualities, without losing Alex's skilful songwriting or the band's diversity of instruments explored on 'Great Barrier Grief'. One thing's for sure - 'Deep Heat' will produce a tantalising live show when they tour the country in September and October this year.
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