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Tax The Heat arrive carrying a considerable weight of expectation – their fans include desert rock maestro Chris Goss and Thin Lizzy’s Scott Gorham. The Bristol quartet’s sound picks from the diesel power of the MC5, the fuzziness of QOTSA and Jack White’s riff worship, with a dash of classic British R&B.

The production doesn’t offer much light and shade, preferring a fat, full sound perfect for the stomp of Animals and Highway Home. Likewise, frontman Alex Veale sounds his best belting out the title track and channelling Josh Homme on Under Watchful Eye rather than tackling a ballad on Hit Me Hard.

Caroline features an irrepressible guitar hook and Some Sympathy boasts a monster chorus. It might not be subtle, but it’s frequently glorious.

After starting his writing career covering the unforgiving world of MMA, David moved into music journalism at Rhythm magazine, interviewing legends of the drum kit including Ginger Baker and Neil Peart. A regular contributor to Prog, he’s written for Metal Hammer, The Blues, Country Music Magazine and more. The author of Chasing Dragons: An Introduction To The Martial Arts Film, David shares his thoughts on kung fu movies in essays and videos for 88 Films, Arrow Films, and Eureka Entertainment. He firmly believes Steely Dan’s Reelin’ In The Years is the tuniest tune ever tuned.