Neon Highwire

About Neon Highwire

A bead of sweat trickles down his cheek. It’s not warm in here, yet still his body feels compelled to fight the heat. He’s not a rock star, he’s never even been to Birmingham.

The other two aren’t much better, unified by social ineptitude and coffee breath. These three people aren’t ones to aspire to. The word aspirational appears sarcastic when written down on paper and held up next to their faces.

So why do I love them so? What is it about Neon Highwire, these three seemingly unremarkable men, that fills me with pure excitement whenever their name is mentioned? Is it because musically their each song is so crammed with ideas they threaten to implode in on themselves? Is it because they hit you with one infectious ear-worm after another with the kind of chart-bothering potential most acts can only dream of? These songs can move the hips of the dead. Is it because the stark imagery of their lyrics paint no pretty pictures of who they are, instead writing with such stark honesty as to make listening almost uncomfortable?

“Whenever you come don’t cry too loud, breathe a sigh, why do you look away when that’s all between us?”

The answer is yes. Very yes.

They live in London, though none were born there. Self-taught producers whose blue collar backgrounds were never going to make things easy for them. Perfectionist control freaks, their debut album took four years to complete with recording, production & mixing done by the band with only the mastering trusted to Simon Davey at The Exchange. Unified by their lack of life direction elsewhere, they make music because it’s what they do, what they’ve always done, arguably all they do well. Their live reputation for raucous and borderline dangerous shows has seen them perform alongside acts such as Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and Dragonette. Their debut album Relate (2013) is essential listening. Not a misplaced note from start to finish.

It saddens my heart to think that there are still people out there who haven’t heard Neon Highwire. They’re like a drug. They’re better than drugs. Twinkling melodies, vivid lyricism & inventive songwriting layered in a manner that rewards repeated listening. It’s raw excitement. F**k what you think you know. Know Neon Highwire.