Heavy Mama – Devil on My Shoulder (2021)

All of us have that little voice in the back of our minds that tells us that we are going to fail even if we don’t always listen to it. Heavy Mama is tapping into this voice and considering how it affects us in ‘Devil on My Shoulder’. With a bluesy drive, the band builds a dynamic picture of what that little voice has to say and how we can be our own worst enemies.

This look at our self-saboteur comes from Robbie Hall (vocals, guitar), Stephen Kirk Macleod (drums) and Steven Adamson (bass). The trio started playing together in 2005 while studying at Perth College and spent a few years gigging across Scotland. While the groups disbanded in 2009, the recordings they made are getting a new breath of life through their release.

‘Devil on My Shoulder’ is all sliding bluesy rock from the first moment. The guitar has this amazing hook that makes you want to sway to the power it brings. Combining with the beats, it draws you into the trilling of the guitar solo. There is a beauty to the melody that you can’t help but get lost in. The bluesy flow of the guitar makes you think of the great guitarists like BB King and Eric Clapton. While you can hear some influences, there is something that is purely Heavy Mama that is absolute bliss to listen to.

Hall’s vocals have a smoky vibe as he wraps the tendrils of the lyrics around you. There is a smooth slide to his voice as it slips along the melody. This is really a masterclass in blues-rock that you don’t get to hear that often anymore. You can easily imagine the band playing this live as you close your eyes and get lost in the sound. As you fall under their spell, the lyrics hit you with what that little voice in the back of your brain can do to you.

Heavy Mama hit you with a masterclass of blues-rock that has you moving to their sound and slipping under their spell with ‘Devil on My Shoulder’. The vocals are smoky tendrils that wrap around your brain and pull you into the majesty of the melody. The guitar riffs are a thing of beauty and you will want to listen to the single again and again.

Find out more about Heavy Mama on their Facebook, Twitter and Spotify.