Album Review: Keep Moving by Hyde & Beast

There’s a sizeable generation of North East music fans for whom The Futureheads have always existed, their presence at the forefront of our musical community a source of reassurance and positivity, reminding us that even in these grim old times it is still actually possible to make a good fist of things if you’ve got talent, decency, and a hell of a work ethic. So, while their current professional breather has undoubtedly left a large gap in the area’s music scene, it’s nice that all of the band’s members retain a pretty active interest. The four continue to work on the wonderful Split Festival, while Ross Millard has fronted the short-lived but brilliant Rivals and recently started playing with Frankie and the Heartstrings, Jaff plays in David Brewis’s School of Language project, and Barry Hyde has solo material imminent.

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Better shelve all those numbskull drummer jokes. For their second album together, stickmen Dave Hyde and Neil Bassett (of Futureheads and Golden Virgins respectively) have crafted a set of rootsy late-’60s/early-’70s classic pop that bears comparison with some hefty names. At times – in the swaying, fuzzed-up chords of ‘Open Your Heart’ or the sweet, bluesy hooks of ‘Blown Away’ – ‘Keep Moving’ wears its love of late-period Beatles on its sleeve, and there are echoes too of T Rex in ‘Blue”s airy boogie.

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Hyde & Beast, the Sunderland duo comprising of two drummers - Dave Hyde (The Futureheads) and Neil Bassett (The Golden Virgins) - first came together in 2011 with the aim of kicking back and having some fun, whilst paying homage to their 60s psychedelic rock heroes. The resulting debut Slow Down turned out to be very well received, much to the pair’s self-proclaimed surprise; the honesty and simplicity of not trying to mask their influences or deliver any contrived messages made for a highly enjoyable if not entirely ground breaking record. Their return to the studio, for their follow up album Keep Moving claims to be their most “emotionally heavyweight” recording to date.

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