Southend-On-Sea’s Longy has had a hell of a 2024. The Hardest Working Man In Rock N Roll has released a collection of incredible acoustic home recordings (No One Goes Cold On My Watch Vol 1), a series of eclectic electric standalone tracks that ultimately found their way onto the iMerica EP (along with 2 other songs) AND still has another single entitled I’m Still Here planned for later this month.
He also put out this live EP. Recorded at a tiny club in Chelsea, London back in 2021, it has only now been able to see the light of day. I guess the world is finally ready?
Live At The 606 Club starts with “The Underclass” which can only be described as a runway train with no brakes. It’s a punchy, punky fight song for the disenchanted and downtrodden. It’s got an infectious rhythm with the backbeat of the chorus instrumention stealing the show. Eventually it breaks down, builds up then blows you away. What an opener.
“Send Me Packin Mama” keeps the vibe going but with a slightly reduced pace. It feels a bit like a lost Libertines track – with a ramshackle charm and trashy quality that adds grit to an arrangement that, at times, sounds like it could’ve been a folk or blues traditional. The descending chord sequence in the middle 8 is extremely satisfying. As the lead guitar squeals and the song folds back neatly into the chorus, this feels like an anthem in waiting – more suited for free-spirited frivolity in festival fields than seated SW10 intimate venues. But we take what we can get.
“Don’t Get Me Started” has an almost calypso-inspired lilt and is a surprising left turn. It works excellently though – sounding like Paolo Nutini fronting Razorlight covering The Specials. The juxtaposition of lyrics like “cold in the morning, cold in the evening, what’s the point in hanging on?” against the almost tropical sounding instrumentation is a novel pairing. Longy’s strained, gravelly vocals towards the end of the song sounds like they’re barely holding together – such is the conviction and commitment to the performance. The spirit on show here absolutely seeps through the speakers and entirely ensnares the listener.
“Butterfly Chain” finishes off the EP. A distortion-drenched, feedback-driven intro melts into an uncharacteristic, but rather charming, falsetto vocal. It’s full of attitude in the verses but when the pre-chorus comes in it takes on a much sweeter sound. By the time we’re at the chorus proper, we’re in festival anthem territory again. You can absolutely hear the influence of Richard Ashcroft and The Verve in this – Longy is a big fan and it shows. During the tension-building break down the machine gun-like drums sound absolutely huge, before we return to the equally sizeable chorus to see us out. We can’t wait to see what 2025 has in store.
Written by Kinda Grizzly
