The American music scene as a whole has given Britain a run for their money in the past few years, which has been forever known as the land that births the edgiest form of rock that gets the biggest buzz, magazine covers, and spotlights on various TV shows. But when an Atlanta band has to go to Europe in order to get a speedier form of recognition, it’s doesn’t seem quite right.
That’s exactly what The Hiss have done, releasing their Loog/Polydor debut on the UK label in June of last year before signing to Sanctuary Records this year. Spending their time overseas paid off, getting recognition from NME as one of the Top 10 Bands to Watch, BBC’s Radio 1 and Oasis’s Noel Gallagher. All this happened unbeknownst to music fans over here.
So what’s the hype all about? It was pure luck that I was in Atlanta last year when the group played a hometown, 99X sold out show, opening for the White Stripes as part of their nationwide US tour. With brash arena rock riffs from the late ‘70s to a leather studded jacket fashion of the modern kind, The Hiss catches your ear with melody and moxy, heartfelt vocals to heated passion – bursting with all these elements that captured the attention of the Atlanta audience who never knew what they had.
Track to track each facet of what makes them hiss is revealed, from a blues embodied mood of gin and sorrow, a gusty determination filled with faith and tenacity, along with reflection and a stretch of the imagination of what could be. The harmonies are shimmering and sweet; strings are pulled tight and burn with pure rock n roll fervor, burning down the Hollywood strip, and riding low on the hips that shake to the core.
It’s only a matter time before these guys to get the recognition on their native land that they’ve received abroad. No longer will they have to sing for someone to “Listen To Me”.
The Hiss invades Denver May 4 at Larimer Lounge with Electric Six.
