Hyde & Beast - Keep Moving

Their return to the studio, for their follow up album Keep Moving claims to be their most “emotionally heavyweight” recording to date. With both members of the band going through relationship breakups and Bassett a recent bereavement, this time the studio offered something more of a retreat from the outside world than a couple of mates jamming on T-Rex riffs and enjoying a few beers. However, this is still a far cry from an introspective or self-serving record; the overall effect is still unpretentious and upbeat, albeit with a few more melancholic undertones.

The opening track “Open Your Heart” serves as quite a nice illustration of this sentiment, beginning with bright Randy Newman-esque piano, and opening lyrics “Would you Adam and Eve it/Believe that we’re through”, there’s no cryptic message here, and whilst it lacks the poetic poignancy of the likes of Newman, it’s nice that they’ve managed to make the songwriting relevant to their own lives, even though they’re delivering it in the pleasantly nostalgic sounds and styles of almost half a century’s past.

Title track “Keep Moving”, delivers big riffs and driving rhythms, yet lyrically does indeed imply an underlying sense of futility, “If time goes slow, you lose the rhythm and the flow/ If time goes fast you leave the good times in the past”. “Like I’m Grass” drifts along in a sleepy, trippy way that’s reminiscent of Harry Nilsson, “You ask me if I still miss you /I’m growing my hair” he lilts along in delightfully bittersweet, nostalgic tones.

The overall effect , is that the record was a lot of fun to make, and Hyde & Beast could never be accused of taking themselves too seriously. “Train to Nowhere” , with somewhat clichéd lyrics “The train I like goes to god knows where/ I don’t know, I don’t care”, with its extended jammed outro, stays very true to the original spirit in which the duo was originally formed.

It’s rare to hear bands wearing their influences on their sleeves so readily, but they seem to have got the balance just right. Musically “Blown Away” is pretty much a tribute to Bob Dylan’s “The Man In Me”; with a cheeky wink to the fact at the end of the fade out which copies the vocal line note for note, it’s difficult to feel annoyed that there sound is obviously borrowed, as it’s so unashamed as to be endearing.

Whilst the songwriting is undeniably catchy, and spotting the influences reads like a lesson in popular music history (with elements of the Kinks, Crosby Stills & Nash and the Beatles leaping out on first listen, and many others the more you hear it) what is often overlooked when people talk about Hyde & Beast is the gorgeously authentic production values – for a pair of drummers, they’ve got a firm grasp on the musicianship across the whole spectrum; from the warm upright bass, and bittersweet sax solo on “Forever your Own”, to the overlaid vocals, bold steel guitars and even kazoo on the Marc Bolan inspired “Blue”, this is a record that’s crying out to be listened to with the comforting crackles of a well-loved vinyl, and preferably danced to bare-foot on a questionably patterned carpet.