I had falling in love with (hed) p.e. a lifetime ago when drunk in a bar I heard for the first time their song “Bartender”. I write about that when they released in 2009 the killer album entitled “New World Orphans” and mention it again, one year later when they delivered “Truth Rising”, their eighth studio album.
Four years might feels like another lifetime, but Jared Gomes is back and he is furious, maybe even more determined then ever. Those wicked riffs, those dub and reggae flavored grooves and hardcore rooted intensity are always refreshing, although sometimes some of them are sound quite familiar.
Hed PE, also known as (hed) Planet Earth and stylized as (həd) p.e. was formed by Vocalist Jared Gomes, also known as “M.C.U.D.” (MC Underdog), and guitarist Wes Geer in 1994 and released the self-financed extended play, “Church of Realities” only one year later.
They signed with Jive Records, releasing their self-titled debut album in 1997. Unfortunately, due to the label’s contractual terms and the disappointing sales of the album, the band found themselves unable to repay the cash advances given to them by Jive. Gomes is quoted as saying “We had these romantic visions of the music industry, and we thought it would be cool to be a punk band on a rap label. So we fulfilled that dream, but it was also probably the worst thing that could have happened. We’ve had offers from Sony and others that we can’t take because we owe Jive so much money.” Read more (hed) p.e. – Evolution (2014)
While I’m drowning in a sea of absolutely boring music day after day, this pretty British sounding French band made my day and Monday. It’s a cool mixture of reggae, funk, punk-rock and accidentally some electronica. Smooth, groovy and nicely done. And genuine in a world of fake and plastic. Simply it feels right. Maybe it’s not revolutionary, it will not turn your world (and pity life) upside down, but it will keep you going. And although by default I would reject any mixture of punk with pop, this “Little Armageddon” sounds more convincing then most of the modern American self-declared punk products.
Benji Webbe and his comando (Daniel Pugsley – bass; Mikey Demus – guitar, backing vocals; and Arya Goggin – drums) of reggae-metal from Welsh are back with their fifth studio album entitled “Kill the Power”. He stated about the titled and the upcoming album: “We are more than excited to unleash this Skindred bomb on the world! Kill The Power is for all them that are sick of being the underdog, and wanna step up and destroy all those who oppress and hold them down! Use this album as a backdrop to overcome and take your life back! We ain’t fighting the power no more – we are definitely killing it!!” And they delivered probably their best album so far.
