Altsounds - The Hickey Underworld - Blonde Fire [Single]

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The Hickey Underworld - Blonde Fire [Single]

As an introduction into the world of The Hickey Underworld their latest single 'Blonde Fire' is something of a red herring. True it contains the clattering, Strokes indebted production and dirty atmosphere that the band are known for, but there is an immediacy here that you won't find in any of their other songs. It's the beat more than anything that holds the song up, it's simple and loud and is underpinned by a really even bass line.

It's an exemplary example of discordant, high energy indie rock. However this is a band who think they are much weirder than that, (just check their David Lynchian website for proof) and as such the initial impression is of a band who take themselves very seriously indeed. That concept however is completely at odds with this song, a track brimming with ramshackle energy.

What we have here is a surprisingly unpretentious post-hardcore groove based song with rumbling drums, fuzz-bomb guitars and heavy bass. Frontman Younes Faltakh sounds like Julian Casablancas with a vice around his testicles at first but they soften slightly as the song progression eventually flitting into a smooth falsetto. If the Cribs came from Belgium and had sweaty man sex with Poison The Well, this would be the result. A great little song.