Names to Remember: The Heavy Hearts and Helms Alee

     Here are two bands to be on the lookout for when scanning through the club listings.  Both are excellent should not be missed.

Formerly Triple X Audio, the Heavy Hearts changed their sound and their name a little over a year ago.  Last fall they put out their debut EP on Swingline Records.  It’s full of angular guitar, chaotic vocals, pounding drums, and duel bass.  But where they really shine is on stage.  Their show at the Sunset on March 24th had local press buzzing.  The Seattle Weekly said, “…the Hearts hit the Sunset stage with enough energy to power all of Ballard, tearing through a 30-minute set like a pack of pit bulls going at a side of bloody beef” and “a mighty combination of post-hardcore and trash-punk.”  Over at Three Imaginary Girls they wrote, “a full-on garage rock assault. The four-piece thrashed their mop-heads and bounced around and clearly took great pleasure in rocking the ample crowd at the Sunset.”  The full Seattle Weekly  and Three Imginary Girls reviews can be found here and here respectively.  The Heavy Hearts have not booked any shows in the near future so that they can finish up their full length album.  They hope to have it out by this fall.  For now, check out their recent appearance on KEXP’s Audioasis.

On Wednesday April 4th, I went to Can Can to see These Arms Are Snakes.  From the intersection of First and Pike, I could already hear an unholy rumbling coming from below the market.  I made my way down the steps, past some late-night tourists debating whether or not to enter, and into what was once known as Patti Summers Cabaret.  It was dark and crowded and the vibe at Can Can was like a rowdy speakeasy or some secret club frequented by Al Capone-type gangsters (but no gangsters, just black clad, tattooed hipsters).  The source of the rumbling was three-piece Helms Alee.  On guitar and vocals was Ben Verellen, who has done time in These Arms Are Snakes and Harkonen.  They list influences like Chavez, Unwound, Big Business, and Drive Like Jehu.  Noisy, heavy, and catchy all at once.  I’ve been listening to the four songs on their myspace page over and over.  I believe the Can Can show was their first ever.  They don’t have any upcoming shows listed on their site, but I was told, “More shows happening soon.”

If you see Helms Alee or The Heavy Hearts are playing somewhere, get there.

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