Entertaining Cincinnati Rock/Soul/Roots quintet Heavy Hinges is set to issue its latest recording, the six-track Cause a Scene, this weekend in conjunction with a release party performance. Saturday’s free event at Northside Tavern (4163 Hamilton Ave., Northside, northsidetav.com) begins at 10 p.m. Local singer/songwriter/cellist Kate Wakefield also performs.
Heavy Hinges came together five years ago and honed its craft with energetic live shows on the local club scene before releasing its first debut, Mean Old City, in 2014. Cause a Scene displays an even tighter chemistry between the talented musicians, who still roam around musical styles without ever losing their own distinctive band personality.
Described in a CityBeat review of Heavy Hinges’ debut as a “secret weapon,” singer (and ukulele player) MayaLou Banatwala emerges on Cause a Scene with more confident guidance. She matches the charisma of fellow singer (and guitarist) Dylan Speeg, a veteran local artist and musician (Rottweilers, Buckra) who anchors the band, with her perfect mix of Soul music’s expressiveness and Punk Rock swagger and sass. The other musicians (drummer Brian Williamson, bassist Andrew Laudeman and guitarist Jeremy Singer) are flawless throughout, providing both the precision and feel needed for a sound largely based on classic R&B, as well as a bit of Rock & Roll flair.
All six tracks on Cause a Scene are superb. The EP opens with the smoldering groove of “Another Minute” (aided by great electric-piano ornamentation from recording engineer Matt Hueneman) before gliding into an impressive cover of “Valerie,” originally by British band The Zutons but made famous by Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse’s version from 2007. Hearing Banatwala sing a song so closely associated with one of the current millennium’s most revered Soul singers is a great method to show how fantastic of a singer she is, in the same way that a painter recreating a famous van Gogh piece freehand is going to give a good sense of the artist’s unique identity and depth of natural talent. Banatwala definitely lives up to the weighty comparison that presents itself.
Elsewhere on Cause a Scene, the Hinges show their versatility on the buoyant, swinging Country burner “Long Time,” a greatly constructed song that if one was told was also a cover of a classic tune, there’d be no reason to doubt it. The musicians indeed turn to a classic with their spin on the traditional “Jericho,” making it their own and allowing Speeg to fully showcase his charming vocal gifts. “Too Hot Handle” rocks with a bit of New Wave verve and shimmy before closing track “Bounce Back” concludes the proceedings like a James Brown cape-routine, extending into a seven-minute Rock & Soul-revue jam.
Most of the members of Heavy Hinges have a wealth of musical experience, so they were solid from the get-go. But Cause a Scene shows what can happen when great musicians spend extensive time playing together — the effortless musical intimacy and camaraderie makes the music jump from the speakers and grab the listener by the collar in a way it didn’t before.
Visit heavyhinges.com for more info, links and the latest on the band.
CONTACT MIKE BREEN: mbreen@citybeat.com
This article appears in Jan 11-18, 2017.