Quick, Before It Melts.

I don't know if Jim Guthrie and Nick Thorburn took the name for their collaboration from Neil Young's Human Highway movie, but there are some definite parallels between Human Highway the band and the movie of the same name.

The movie is an unlikely combination of already established artists: Young is a co-director (under a pseudonym) and acts alongside Dean Stockwell (his co-director), Russ Tamblyn, Dennis Hopper, and the band Devo. The band Human Highway is also a combination of established artists, though maybe not quite as unlikely: Jim Guthrie is well known as part of Royal City and a solo artist in his own right; Nick Thorburn is the man behind Islands. Both have worked together in the past, but Human Highway is their first time working exclusively with each other.

The movie is a comedy set at a gas station near a nuclear plant on the last day of Earth, and it's non-conventional style and subject matter have made it a cult favourite for some time now. The band's press releases sets the project up with a bit of humour, noting that their album Moody Motorcycle features some "hot man-on-man vocal action." In reality, the songs, inspired by 50's and 60's vocal and do-wop groups, has a laid back, relaxed groove that sounds like the pair were working at making music that they wanted to hear, rather than bowing to industry pressure or expectations. Moody Motorcycle is already getting the cult-favourite treatment, as it was released last month in the shadow of the most recent Islands album, Arm's Way.

With two highly accomplished songwriters working together, you can bet that the results are going to be good. Moody Motorcycle is an album that you can come back to and revisit many times, just like a great lost movie; every time you watch it/listen to it you'll love it all over again. Until further notice, the only way to enjoy Human Highway the band is going to be through their recorded output, as there have been no announced tour or performance plans yet.

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.: Human Highway :.

"Sleep Talking"

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