On The Up

Who got da fonk? Well, this bunch of cravat-wearing stomp-monsters from the South West, actually. Latest signings to Counter Records, the Ninja Tune-affiliated imprint that brought us acid-pop troubadour Pop Levi, Bath natives The Heavy will follow in the footsteps of that oddball minstrel by performing at the next instalment in Time Out's On The Up series. Comprised of four sharply dressed Mod boys, plus backing gal Little Hannah Collins, the band will kick out the jams with a terrific, slightly menacing and dirty mix of Funkadelic, James Brown and maxi-fuzzed psychedelic garage, notably that of The Sonics. It's a muchos rocking, in-yer-face blend that got much of the tent at a recent London festival foot-tapping while, at the same time, terrifying quite a few children. That's our kind of band.