The BellRays – Heavy Steady Go!

The BellRays, who have always revolved around the core of the raw guitar skills of Robert Vennum and the soulful vocals of Lisa Kekaula, are back with a new album, the appropriately titled Heavy Steady Go! After 34 years they might be forgiven for taking their foot off the gas, but that isn’t The BellRays way. With at least eight full length albums, as well as various splits, compilations, EPs, singles and collaborations behind them, their new album is in the spirit of The BellRays unique style that blends, punk, soul and rock along with the the spirit of the original 60’s garage bands. Two of the aforementioned collaborations saw vocalist Lisa Kekaula team up with members of The Stooges and MC5, and in that spirit The Bellrays continue to blaze a path with the original Detroit soundtrack, of both soul and punk, that has been transplanted to Sunny California.

Heavy, Steady, Go! Has been a long time in the making and was recorded over two locations, Tucson, AZ and Riverside, CA, and with two distinct line ups, the rhythm section from Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds completing the line up in Arizona, whilst the California recordings feature the return of drummer Craig Waters and the latest member of the The BellRays family, Nico Miles, on bass. Over the years various ham fisted attempts have been made to describe The BellRays collision of styles, and if I’m honest I’m probably going to add to that, but I’m going to try and avoid the often cliched ‘this singer meets that band’ comparisons that are often trotted out in an attempt to describe the experience of The BellRays.

There’s no surprise that The BellRays veer across the genres on Heavy Steady Go! From bluesy polished rock & soul, which seems to dominate the A-side, to raw garage punk. The flip side is a different beast, whether this is due to the aforementioned geographic split I’m not sure, but it sounds more like The BellRays I’ve encountered in assorted sweaty basements. Whereas side a was polish, side b sounds more down and dirty, there is the same mix of styles that we all know and love on both sides, but the latter half of the album just seems to have more of a snarl to it. There are also a couple of bonus tracks, a revved up cover of The Temptations‘ Ball Of Confusion, that was released as a single last year, and a soulful take on True Love Travels On A Gravel Road that was originally recorded by Duane Dee and popularised by Elvis Presley.

Lisa Kekaula’s vocals can, and frequently have been, compared to the sweetest soul recordings, but when she lets loose there’s real power in that incredible voice, this is matched by Robert Vennum’s unique sonic approach the melds the best elements of everyone from The Sonics to Mudhoney into a soundclash that no one has even attempted to copy, probably because you couldn’t recreate this unique cocktail even if you wanted to. Heavy Steady Go! reflects two different sides of The Bellrays, one is more polished, smoother, maybe more rock and soul, the other unleashes their wild side of punk rock & soul. The bonus tracks reflect a few of their influences, that and The BellRays have always loved a well chosen cover.

Heavy Set Go! Reflects all aspects of The BellRays, if you love them, then this is an album that won’t disappoint on any level. My preference is for the rawer approach but I’m not casting any shade on the more polished tracks. Lisa Kekaula still has one of the finest voices in rock ’n roll, Robert Vennum brings the venom, and as ever, they have complimented this with a backline, two in the case, that suits the duo perfectly. The BellRays aren’t going to change, and I wouldn’t want them to, and why should they when they have already carved their own unique niche into the punk scene. Heavy Steady Go! is the sound of The BellRays still firing on all cylinders and ready to hit the road again, which they do when they head out across North America with Social Distortion in just a few short weeks.

Heavy, Steady, Go! is due out on August 30th via the band’s own Sweet Gee Records imprint.