The Heavy Hustle have been brewing for a bit. Whether drawing from the pantheons of funk, prog, punk or pop, the ever-evolving project's energy level is always set to 11. Over the past few weeks, the band have started to trickle out a series of singles, and the seven-minute rocker "These Days" is number three of four that'll ultimately make up their self-titled debut EP.
With influences ranging from Bowie and The Police to Queens of the Stone Age, Periphery and Tool, the catchy riffs and chorus of "These Days" moves in and out of proggy jam sessions throughout the song. Working with Kevin Hahn of Opal Studio and Slater Swan of Anjuna Recording Studio to track the song (followed by mixing by Matt Greco at The Rye Room and mastering by Adam Gonzalves at Telegraph), the song initially "came about because [singer] Charley [McGowan] was fiddling around with some synthesizers and came up with the introductory line," the band tells. "From there some jams happened in the practice space and before we knew it, the song came about. It has several movements, and about two-thirds of the way into the song there's a section, like a second bridge, that we consider a nod to Snarky Puppy, one of our favorite bands."
"About a week after we recorded this, Foo Fighters released their single 'Run.' If you pay attention to the drums during the verse, you'll notice a beat which syncs up pretty close—it's really similar. We had a good laugh over how close it was! It's also cool to hear that style of beat in such a heavy song. We thought that was a sign we were probably doing something right!"
The band also called upon horn player Farnell Newton who "makes a guest appearance on the outro of the track," they reveal. "His trumpet enters the song in a lone melodic line fading out over a stretched period to bring us out of the track. It is one of our favorite parts of the whole EP; it was his flow of consciousness gently landing the song right where it wanted to go while adding the perfect contrast in dynamics."
