Highly Suspect

  • Sunday 20 March 2016

Hotly-tipped New York rock trio HIGHLY SUSPECT have announced a show at the Powerstation on 20 March, the night after they make their live debut in New Zealand at Auckland City Limits.

The group’s singles “Lydia” and “Bloodfeather” have both topped the local rock charts and their album Mister Asylum picked up a Grammy nomination.

Johnny Stevens [vocals, guitar] and twin brothers Rich [bass, vocals] and Ryan Meyer [drums] are already causing a stir for their fiery live shows, drawing comparisons with Queens of the Stone Age, Royal Blood and early Kings of Leon.

Johnny was discovered busking in the New York subway and introduced to producer Joel Hamilton [Black Keys, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello].

“We didn’t have a genre or aesthetic we were going for,” explains Ryan. “We simply wrote what we liked. It was really natural, and Joel captured that on our first EP.”

Their album Mister Asylum tapped into something real, rigid, and raw that instantly resonated. The record debuted at #22 on the Billboard Top 200, making it one of the top three biggest selling rock debuts by a new act in 2015.

“Asylum can be a place of safety, and it can also be a place that’s scary, like a mental institution,” Johnny says. “Mister Asylum embodies both of those things all at once—safety and craziness. It’s losing your mind and finding yourself. That’s us. When people listen to our music, I want them to feel like they're not alone in their thoughts. At the same time, we’re just regular dudes. We want to meet everyone and have a good time when we play.”

Highly Suspect - Lydia [Official Video]