Track listing: Paper Hearts

"Paper Hearts" by Boston-based rockers Heavy America comes at you with mystery and intrigue. The bass & drum groove alongside the muted, chunky rhythm guitar brings to mind Armored Saint's "Can You Deliver" with a vocal treatment channeling late-70s rockers Axe. The sudden stop in the post-chorus and tempo change in the bridge brings to the party just a dash of the progressive rock movement of the same era. And something about that same vocal treatment, and how the vocal melody closely follows the chord progression gives a nod to Ozzy's early Black Sabbath and solo album vocal melodies.

Beyond comparisons to bands of old, you can hear a bit of influence from 90s alt/grunge. Heavy America brings together multiple generations and styles of rock to fuse together a sound representing their own tastes and vibe. The trio has arranged "Paper Hearts" carefully, highly tuned in to just the right moment for a splash cymbal, knowing how tempo changes and stops, pauses, and freefrom tempo moments can take a song from being run-of-the-mill Rock to something new, unique, and compelling.

The line-up of Michael T. Seguin (lead vocals, guitar), Budd Lapham (bass, vocals) and Dan Fried (drums, vocals) shows the value of a trio whose members all sing. What a secret weapon! In my humble opinion, harmonies are one of the things that immediately level-up a live band's performance. A 2- or 3-part harmony make people look up from their drink and take notice, with a nod to their buddy that says "these guys are pretty good!" And when you can do that with only 3 people onstage, it's that much more impressive.

They obviously know what they're doing. Heavy America's Spotify tracks have racked up more than 1/2-million streams to date! Check out the new single and see what else the band is up to. Start your trek across Heavy America at heavyamerica.us.