As it’s written on the album cover, the title of the new Heavy Glow record is Pearls & Swine and Everything Fine. Phonetically, I have no issue. With lists, traditional grammar constructs would have you put a comma, so it’s “pearls, swine and everything…” (the Oxford comma is a matter of a whole different debate, I use it situationally), but it’s obvious the Cleveland heavy rocking trio are toying with long-standing aphorisms, and the double “and” is playful. What gets me about it is the ampersand.

Not that they use it. I tend not to except in headlines if I’m feeling particularly saucy — it’s embarrassing how true that is — but I’m cool with Heavy Glow using it in their title, especially on an album cover where space is limited. What makes the lid on my editor’s eye twitch is the use of the ampersand and then the use of “and.” Basically they’re saying “and” twice, but doing it once with an ampersand and once with the actual word. These guys are a good band going by everything I’ve heard from them, and I’m not sure I can explain why it bothers me in a way that doesn’t immediately lead to some kind of self-diagnosis, but to have the ampersand there and then “and” itself, well, it’s got my nerves in a bundle.

All the better, I suppose, that the latest track from what I’ve just decided I’m going to call Pearls and Swine and Everything Fine is “Nerve Endings,” and that its catchy, classic rocking stomp will soothe the aching brain. Heavy Glow‘s new album is out on June 3, but they’re taking preorders now on their Bandcamp, and “Nerve Endings” is just the most recent reveal in a series that can be tracked through their YouTube channel.

Enjoy:

Heavy Glow, “Nerve Endings”

Heavy Glow on Thee Facebooks

Heavy Glow on Bandcamp

Los Angeles-based rockers Heavy Glow are set to begin an admirable stretch of touring tomorrow that will take them all along the West Coast and into the Midwest in support of a limited reissue of their 2011 outing Midnight Moan and their new Mine all Mine/Headhunter 7″. The vinyl — which if I’m not mistaken also features art from Mad Alchemy, who will join the band for live psychedelic visuals at the Chicago show on Aug. 21 as the poster below indicates — is limited to 300 copies, and it seems like a safe bet that by the time Heavy Glow are off the road this time out, they’ll be gone.

Here’s the latest off the PR wire:

psyche-soaked proto-metal, gutbucket garage rock Heavy Glow on tour, 7-inch vinyl release

HEAVY GLOW TOUR KICKS OFF IN SAN FRANCISCO JULY 31
CLOSES WITH HOMETOWN SHOW IN CLEVELAND AUGUST 24TH

Produced by Michael Patterson (Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Beck, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) the two tracks on the Heavy Glow vinyl 7″ have an immense and compelling sound. Stephen King’s series, Under The Dome, on CBS television used the track, “Headhunter,” in the second episode to gripping effect. Stevie Salas (Mick Jagger, Steve Vai, Rod Stewart, Justin Timberlake) christened the band during their recording session with him. Press have sung the band’s praises and now audiences get the chance to see the band live on tour.

Heavy Glow Tour Itinerary (subject to change):
Sunday, July 31st at Neck of the Woods in San Francisco, CA
Friday, August 2nd at Kenton Club in Portland, OR
Saturday, August 3rd at The Comet Tavern in Seattle, WA
Sunday, August 4th at Silver Moon in Bend, OR
Tuesday, August 6th at New Frontier Club in Meridian, ID
Wednesday, August 7th at Red Room in Boise, ID
Thursday, August 8th at Burt’s Tiki Lounge in Salt Lake City, UT
Friday, August 9th at TBA in Denver, CO
Saturday, August 10th at Triple Nickel in Colorado Springs, CO
Sunday, August11th at Left Woods in Amarillo, TX
Monday, August 12th at The Conservatory in Oklahoma City, OK
Tuesday, August 13th at Lola’s Saloon in Ft. Worth, TX
Wednesday, August 14th at Stickyz Rock n Roll Chicken Shack in Little Rock, AR
Thursday, August 15th at TBA in Memphis, TN
Friday, August 16th at Smithe’s Old Bar in Atlanta, GA
Saturday, August 17th at 5 Spot in Nashville, TN
Monday, August 19th at MOTR Pub in Cincinnati, OH
Tuesday, August 20th at Foam in St. Louis, MO
Wednesday, August 21st at Cobra Lounge in Chicago, IL
Friday, August 23rd at Knickerbocker Saloon in Lafayette, IN
Saturday, August 24th at Happy Dog in Cleveland, OH

Visit the band online at heavyglowmusic.com, on Facebook.com/heavyglowband or on Twitter at heavyglowmusic.

Heavy Glow, Midnight Moan (2011)

This Spring, Los Angeles rockers Heavy Glow will head out on their second West Coast tour, and they’re marking the occasion with the release of a new two-song 7″. Boasting the tracks “Mine all Mine” and “Headhunter” — as well as art from Mad Alchemy — the single was all set to arrive last week but for a problem with the shipping that caused a delay. Undeterred by misfortunes of fate or record-warping cold, Heavy Glow still have Mine all Mine/Headhunter up for pre-order through their Bandcamp page.

Marching the line between the desert crunch of Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters‘ fluid pop delivery, Heavy Glow‘s “Headhunter” is coolly atmospheric and engagingly grooving at once. Movement is a key element, and even as guitarist Jared Mullins indulges in a bluesy solo, bassist Joe Brooks and drummer Michael Amster (also Blaak Heat Shujaa) hold down a solid, relaxed vibe that comes to prominence in the start-stop end of the song. “Mine all Mine,” as the A side, is more chorus centered, with Mullins tossing in a bit of falsetto vocally and matching the guitar line in the post-chorus, but both tracks offer a switched-on take on classically structured desert-isms without losing themselves completely in the psychedelic aspects of their genre.

Both tracks bode well for Heavy Glow as they move forward this year in following up their 2011 full-length, Midnight Moan, and I’m glad to have the chance to highlight Mine all Mine/Headhunter as The Obelisk Radio‘s Add of the Week. You’ll find it in regular rotation on the playlist, and the band have “Headhunter” up for streaming on their aforementioned Bandcamp. Heavy Glow are on Thee Facebooks here.

San Diego-based trio Heavy Glow will have a new album out this year on Purge Records. To herald its coming as the follow-up to 2011’s Midnight Moan, the band have a new 7″ ready and they’ll be taking off on a 15-date West Coast tour starting next Thursday, with Michael Amster of Blaak Heat Shujaa filling in on drums.

As science has proven time and again, people who go to shows in January rule. Here’s the info: