Never Heavy is the Tampa-based project of Steve Alex, who impresses with an infectious fusing of rock and power-pop throughout the project’s new self-titled album. Two years in the making, Never Heavy shows well in its variety of power-pop immediacy, spirited rockers, and vulnerable ballads.
“Sensation” serves as an ideal opener, with its accessibly fuzzy guitars and Ric Ocasek-esque production. Its “sensation, elation,” hook is supremely catchy, inducing replays before the album even gets truly started. The vibrant verses lead seamlessly to this infectious and straight-cutting chorus; Steve Alex’s hooky power-pop songwriting is on display less than a minute into the album, and never quite stops from there, impressing further with tracks like “Endless Summer” and “She Doesn’t Know,” which shows shades of Elvis Costello in the vocals, especially.
The album’s more understated efforts achieve similar success. “Why do all the good ones slip through?” he asks on “Above and Beyond,” swelling from ballad-ready introspection into an acoustic-laden spirit reminiscent of The Replacements. “Goodbye Position” also charms with its playful, folk-forward exterior and catching “no one’s calling,” hooky finale.
Stream the impressive Never Heavy, below:
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“She Doesn’t Know” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of June 2022’ Spotify playlist.
