Glasgow’s heavyskint have a real knack for creating a sense of anger, reflection and unease with “Headstone” which is a song about the consequences of the lives we live and the environments we live in. It’s not quite a song about regret in the traditional sense, it’s more about the moment you start to see who you’ve become and then you realise some of those decisions are just not reversible. It’s drawn from the stories of people who have been affected by violence, fear, addiction and poverty and it’s about the circumstances that can influence people’s actions. Jacob Hunter’s explanation of the song is very human and it’s a very real insight into how difficult it can be to see the patterns of your own destruction while you’re actually living in them. That’s what gives the song such emotional power, it’s not so much about pointing the finger at anyone as it is about the very uncomfortable distance between what you intended to do and what you actually ended up doing. The title is very much about the finality of it all, the finality of some decisions and the things that remain once the chance to change has gone. heavyskint don’t sugarcoat it at all and it’s that tension between anger and self awareness that drives the song. It’s a dark, very considered piece of work and it’s all the more powerful for it.
“Headstone” is all about the tension between restraint and eruption. The instrumental arrangement is constantly on the edge of control and chaos and that’s absolutely the right approach for the material. There’s a palpable sense of pressure under the surface, as if the emotion of the song is being held back even when it’s about to burst. Jamie Kelly’s description of it as “angry yet restrained” is spot on in that respect, particularly the sense of anger that’s been pent up and which only really comes to the surface when you’re looking back on it with some degree of reflection and regret. The decision to rework the song in the studio did a lot to give it a more immediate, more “in the room” feel. Heavyskint are clearly drawing on the modern alternative rock tradition but they’re also very much in the Pink Floyd camp in terms of their atmosphere and they’re very much in the same boat as the 90s Verve and Spiritualized guys in terms of their melodic edge. Those are useful touchstones, but the band’s real appeal is in the way they manage to combine that atmosphere with such a tangible amount of energy. It’s noisy guitars, it’s dynamic range and it’s the promise of much bigger choruses that gives the music its physicality. The mood is dark enough to stop it becoming just a case of aggression for its own sake. It’s a track that’s going to be very tense and very volatile and that volatility is exactly what you’d expect from a song about the process of looking at yourself honestly.
“Headstone” also fits very much with the profile of a band whose identity has been forged in the live music scene of Glasgow. Since their formation they’ve built a following through a series of sell out gigs at venues such as King Tut’s and QMU in Glasgow and Sneaky Pete’s in Edinburgh, their reputation being built on the unpredictability of their live shows. Their nomination for the Sound of Young Scotland award is a clear indicator of the band’s growing profile beyond the city itself. The line-up is a five piece with Hunter and Kelly (the two songwriters) joined by guitarist Sean Reilly, drummer Joel Walker and bassist Maddie Thomasset. The band brings together a very diverse range of backgrounds and experiences which in turn informs their wider outlook. Their gigs are described as being a space where people of all ages, all genders, all sexualities and all walks of life can come together and that is a very significant aspect of the band’s ethos. “Headstone” doesn’t offer a quick fix or pretend that self awareness will automatically heal the damage of past decisions. It’s about the moment of realisation where you can’t ignore the regret and you’re left with the question of what you do next. It’s a track with a very dark atmosphere, a controlled fury and an unflinching subject matter. It’s a track that really does take the darker side of the human experience and makes it tangible and immediate.
“On ‘Headstone’ heavyskint turn their buried anger and the weight of regret into a tense, brooding alternative rock statement about realising who you’ve become before it’s too late.”
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