On first listening to ‘Splashdown’ by Heron, I’m reminded of Joe Satriani’s track, ‘Always With Me, Always With You’, from his breakthrough 1987 album, ‘Surfing With The Alien’. There’s also elements that suggest Mark Knopfler’s ‘Going Home’, from the film ‘Local Hero’. There’s maybe even a hint of Tommy Emmanuel there. None of this is to suggest Heron’s piece is derivative, but rather, it’s an indication of the incredible quality of the track.
‘Splashdown’ is the sort of track that has you hanging onto every note (especially – literally – because of the sustain at the very end). The band comprises two guitars – Ben Blick and Boyd Lewis, along with Eric Morelli on bass, and Nate Blick on drums. It’s strongly guitar-led, but there’s some glorious percussion and a smattering of light bass playing, making it feel like the instrumental embodiment of sunrise: close your eyes and you’ll know exactly what I mean.
‘Splashdown’ feels like the Starting with the barest tendrils of light, more and more sustain is gradually added, with the slowly swelling sound pulsing like the break of dawn. You can almost imagine the dawn chorus starting up, and wonder if the track was written with all this in mind.
Heron are a four piece from Pennsylvania whose 2017 debut, ‘You Are Here Now’, was an album wall to wall with lush, sweeping instrumentals. Released on March 22, Splashdown’ is the first release from their upcoming sophomore album, and was recorded live by Justin Rose, chief engineer at GCR Audio, in Buffalo, New York. It was mixed at Red Room Recording in Seattle, Washington, by the incredible Matt Bayles, who apart from his production work (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam anyone?) was keyboardist for indie rockers, Minus The Bear. If that wasn’t enough, it was mastered by Frank Arkwright, who as an engineer at the world famous Abbey Road Studios has worked with the best in the world, including The Specials, Johnny Marr, and New Order among many many others. With that in mind, ‘Splashdown’, is an exciting foretaste of what is yet to come from the second album, set for release later this year.
You can find Heron online on their official website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Stream and download ‘Splashdown’ here.
