Gyasi Heus who grew up in rural West Virginia and was raised by bohemian parents but now resides in Nashville and records under the name Gyasi (pronounced Jah-See). Gyasi is an accomplished singer/guitarist/songwriter who has been championed by rock luminaries as diverse as radio DJ Rodney Bingenheimer and Henry Rollins. He releases his latest album `Here Comes the Good Part` this month.
The album opens with `Sweet Thing` a real foot stomper of a number of which the artist has said “It’s a song celebrating individuality, self-transformation and the power that lies in living your truth—even when it brings ridicule and alienation,” A real earworm of a track that I almost guarantee will have you singing the title for hours after hearing it. There`s a really alluring feel to `Lightning` a melodic dreamy offering that I’m sure will have arms waving in the air when shared live.
`Snake City` has a kind of foot tapping R&B texture and really reminded me of Bowie`s `The Jean Jeanie` but with some appealing harmonica hues. A throbbing bass line leads us into `She Says` which races along at an immense velocity with some cracking guitar riffs on route.
`Street Life` is a number that the Golden God Robert `Percy` Plant would have killed to sing back in the days of the mighty Led Zeppelin. A haunting saxophone guides us into and out of the philosophical `American Dream` and emphasises the range and depth of this artists musical and vocal variety and ability.
Cheap High originally recorded in 2022 and rerecorded for this album is a blistering rock out, full of the raw power rock n roll of Iggy and the Stooges and lyrically bursting with tempting urges and thrills. I felt that the enticingly sleazy glam tinged `Baby Blue` could have been lifted from the guru of glitter Marc Bolan`s 1972 album `Slider`. A cracking number from this 21st century boy. We have some scintillating guitar riffs towards the latter part of this slice of Hot Love!
`Apple Tree` really tipped it`s hat to The Thin White Juke`s `Oh! You Pretty Things`. The apple tree has been a symbol of many things throughout history, including love, wisdom, and immortality and here it seems to embody love. We head back to a more rock tinted submission with the catchy rhythmic `Bang Bang`.
`Star` has an almost `Moonage Daydream` meets Zep musical vibe about it, a kind of biographical skit on a musical grandee or the ambition to be one possibly. There`s a joyful expansive style about the reflective `23` which takes a breather just beyond the midpoint.
The final cut is `Grand Finale` which is indeed just that, a number in a style akin to the French chanson tradition and a dramatic number to close out on, a `Rock n Roll Suicide` for the modern era.
Gyasi has been championed as reinventing glam rock for the modern age, which is difficult to argue with. However you want to label him, art rock, glam rock, avant-garde, his latest opus `Here Comes the Good Part` is immense, full of melodic tunes, foot stomping rock outs, meditative musings and wonderful singalongs and a must have.
When the Best of lists for 2025 are drawn up in December, Gyasi and `Here Comes the Good Part` must be in the top ten.
Rating 9/10
