Artist spotlight: Highly Suspect

I’ve been listening to Highly Suspect a lot recently, so it’s only right that they’re the next artist to feature under the monthly spotlight. This immense alt rock four-piece calls Cape Cod, Massachusetts, home, yet it was through my interview with Calva Louise — a much more local outfit — that I first heard about them. Better late, and all that.

The band’s fronted by potty-mouthed Johnny Stevens, AKA Terrible Johnny, and it sits on the same record label as Calva Louise and Strange Bones, FRKST. They’re also all under the 300 Entertainment umbrella, where you’ll find a plethora of American rappers, bands and artists, alongside Ireland’s Rejjie Snow.

Their trademark heavy, scuzzy riffs, harsh drums and no-punches-pulled lyrics makes them a real force on the rock scene. So much so, they topped the Billboard US Mainstream Rock Songs chart with ‘My Name Is Human’ back in 2016. But, as you’ll spy below, it’s actually a lot of their other material that’s gripped my ears; namely the relentlessly feisty ‘Canals’. And ‘Bloodfeather’ is immersive and fierce and just a total ripper, too.

Furthermore, if you scroll through their list of collaborations, you’ve got the French metal band Gojira, rising talent Nothing But Thieves, new generation rap sensation Young Thug, and many more. Varied but wholly impressive.