The Brand New Heavies - Sweet Freaks (2014)

The Brand New Heavies, whose debut album hit stores in 1990, have truly stood the test of time. The eleven tracks featured on the quartet s tenth studio album 'Sweet Freaks' are just the latest proof of that full of irresistible grooves, well thought-out melodies and as much lively energy and enthusiasm as on any of their highly successful early outings. Everything came together in a comparable short time span of less than four months. And that included writing, arranging, recording, as well as mixing the entire disc by themselves.

'We set ourselves a time limit before going on this creative journey. A little pressure never hurts' , remembers bass player Andrew Levy, one third of the band s core the other two being drummer/keyboarder/vocalist Jan Kincaid and guitarist Simon Bartholomew. Some time ago we once spent two years working on an album. It didn t turn out too bad in the end, but it was way too long. As an artist you tend to lose spontaneity, when you re starting to overthink or second guess yourself. And that s never a good thing.

Instead the band went back to the way they worked in the early days of their now long and fruitful career. We all got together in a room and tried out whatever rhythms came to us. Once we had found a nice beat, the songs basically wrote themselves. You ve just got let them , laughs Levy. What a gift, considering how few other artists would be able to just pop out sensational numbers like the anthemic 'Bring the Rain' , the wonderful mix of disco-throwback and modern R&B named '95 Tonight' or the free-flowing 'You Are the Fire' .

An important part of what makes this album so lively as well as classy and all around enjoyable is The Brand New Heavies voice, provided by the beautiful and wonderful Dawn Joseph. The Jersey born singer debuted on 2013 s Forward , still sharing vocal duties with the band s original lead singer N Dea Davenport. Since then Joseph has come into her own in a big way. Just listen to her go on tracks like In the Name of Love , Self Portrait or Get On . Hers is a self-assured, powerful and also immensely versatile voice.

The album s title song Sweet Freeek makes clear what the album is all аbout: irresistible melodies that get stuck to your head for days to come. The album doesn t lose any of the band s trademark sound but spikes it up with fresh, crispy grooves. In other words: it s full of tunes which your head simply can t resist to bob along to.

The band feels the same way: We, The Brand New Heavies, are very excited to be releasing our new album with new singer and amazing gift Dawn Joseph who appeared out of a dream. It s freeeky, but Sweet - We hope you love it.