Last March I dragged my post-SXSW shell into a dank and tepid Austin basement better know as Beerland. A rabid noise was erupting from the centre of the room; scathing guitars, leering vocals and a garage lick of sweat and swagger. Climbing through a crush of bodies I caught my first glimpse of JEFF the Brotherhood, and all I saw was hair. Head-banging hair.

Afterwards I bought their record Heavy Days, originally released on their own Infinity Cat label in 2009. Now, out on UK imprint Stolen, it seems to have grown. Where the original LP stopped at ‘Mind Ride’, the UK edition boasts an additional five tracks, most containing a slightly baffling klaxon. Although that is where my troubles here cease.

Storming in through a flurry of bees, title track and album opener ‘Heavy Days’ lays all the cards on the table. Riffs, choruses, and energy are at the heart of this record, but it’s the guitars that really define its brilliance. In a period where the beat of a lower tom is characterising a lot of breaking music it’s nice to hear something that really showcases some six string flourishes.

The beauty of this album though is its fantastic gift of sounding both classic and current. There’s no lazy constructions or chord progressions, the vocals bear the hooks of melody while the tracks jump and burn underneath. Previous single ‘U Got The Look’ repeats to submission, ‘Bone Jam’ trips like Brian Wilson, and ‘Heavy Krishna’ almost elicits a foot on anything resembling a monitor during listens.

This is a great record in every sense. I want to listen to it in bed. I want to listen to it on a bus. I want to listen to it when I should be paying attention to the voice on the other end of the phone. But most of all, I want to see it played again live, in all its hair-banging glory.