heavyskint’s ‘Vice’: A debut too tempting to ignore
The Glaswegian newcomers make a bold entrance with their intoxicating debut single.
Photo: Press
As Scotland’s music capital and home to countless chaotic late nights and blurry morning memories, Glasgow is no stranger to noise. But now, seeping out of the city’s smoke-stuffed cushions and sticky, booze-soaked floors, comes heavyskint – a band making a whole new kind of racket.
What began as a bedroom side project in 2024, inspired by the likes of Fontaines D.C., Wunderhorse and Pink Floyd, has since become a tumultuous force to be reckoned with. Known for their unrestrained, high-intensity performances, heavyskint have already sold out every show they’ve played so far – including turns at iconic venues like Glasgow’s King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut – and it’s this live chaos that they’ve managed to capture in the studio.
Opening with punchy instrumentation, heavyskint’s debut single Vice offers a spacious, vintage soundscape that pairs perfectly with frontman Jacob Hunter’s seductive, rasping vocals. Building gradually, it’s a track that surges with moody guitars and a mounting sense of desperation before leading to its guitar-driven climax that’s all ragged at the edges.
Shifting effortlessly between croon and confrontation, Hunter’s Scottish lilt cuts through all the chaos with hints of Paolo Nutini’s grittier edges (Afterneath comes to mind). But his delivery feels sharper and more volatile, allowing Vice to ultimately unravel into a haze of strain and distortion.
Circling themes of temptation and self-destruction, Vice is a fitting introduction to a band whose sound feels dangerously irresistible. Equal parts vintage rock and youthful recklessness, heavyskint’s debut makes one thing clear: they’re definitely ones to keep an eye on.
Vice is out now.