Reverend And The Makers - Heatwave In The Cold North (2023)

The latest offering from the Sheffield stalwarts combines a typically on point and honest world view, but combined with a sonic palette that will continue to surprise and challenge listeners who think they have Reverend And The Makers all sussed out. It's a perfect encapsulation of the band's urge to now shatter their own artistic parameters with a blend of out-and-out Pop, R'n'B, and Classic Soul.

This album comes hot on the tail of the success of the band's recent single 'Heatwave In The Cold North'. A hazy, sun drenched Barry White-inspired soul bop, the opening single from forthcoming album of the same name has become their biggest hit in over a decade, having been added to Radio 2's B list and being named their Record of the Week. The track became a Top 10 UK airplay chart fixture as the summer came to a close.

Never resting on their laurels and constantly striving to challenge perceptions of the band, Reverend and the Makers have become one of the enduring and great survivors of the British music scene. With a career spanning two decades Jon McClure and his collective of musicians burst onto the scene with their Top 5 charting debut album, 'The State of Things'. The album spawned the UK top 10 single "Heavyweight Champion of the World". The five albums since have seen the band move through several incarnations, sounds and line ups and experience all the highs, and most of the lows, that the music industry has to offer. Each album has reached the Top 20 of the UK album charts, an impressive unbroken run of six albums. These albums have seen them cut across a creative spectrum, ranging from collective efforts to the frontman's singular visions. Instead, The Makers is more a sobriquet, a statement of intent, a commitment and a guiding principle that has seen McClure consistently strive to build, innovate and grow musically and artistically. The Reverend's story is one of the great survival stories of the music industry as charisma, talent, defiance and sheer willpower sees the band start a new chapter reenergized and raring to go. With a point to prove, with 'Heatwave In The Cold North', Reverend And The Makers set about the task in hand armed to the teeth with an arsenal of their biggest, best and most accessible and ambitious songs to date.