Steady Habits “Deviate”

Outstanding debut from Oxford-based band destined to make a great impact.

“Deviate” may be the debut album from Oxford-based indie Americana band Steady Habits, but it comes on the back of a burgeoning reputation based on festival appearances, supporting the likes of Danny George Wilson and the odd single release following the band’s 2020 EP “Hold In Your Breath”. Frontman Sean Duggan hails from New England and the album is shaped by both this physical and emotional journey. It is a journey shaped by Duggan’s memories of home, family and his queer experiences.

The title track is a love letter to his younger self and to those growing up in a world that seems, in Duggan’s eyes, to be eroding freedoms of expression. “The LGBTQ+ community have long been labelled as deviants. This song title reclaims that word as a badge of pride.” Set against a pared-back arrangement of acoustic guitar, banjo, harmonica and slide, the song unfolds like a confessional. If it is a more restrained piece of music on an album that pulses with energy, rhythm and melody, then it serves only to demonstrate that this band, and Duggan’s emotive and arresting vocals in particular, can mix it up to great effect.

Let’s be clear, as a debut, ‘Deviate’ is just about as good as it gets. With only eight songs on the album there is no space for fillers or so-so tracks. Each one is a belter; intelligently written, brilliantly performed and every one oozing class. Originally included on that 2020 EP, opening track ‘Edge Of Changing’ opens the record with a sense of quiet reckoning, rooted in themes of growing pains and shifting family dynamics. As an introduction to a brilliant vocalist, it couldn’t be better. A word here for Duggan’s wistful harmonica and the subtle and affecting harmony vocals of Cathy Ife.

On an album that is clearly both a labour of love and a confessional for Duggan, ‘Garden State’ uses an all too real and disturbing family anecdote to tell the story of generational homophobia through the eyes of a closeted man fleeing a hostile hometown. At over five minutes, it is the longest track on the album and morphs through an understated acoustic opening into a heavy guitar-driven pulsating number.

Ultimately, picking apart every track for its merits on an album this good simply isn’t necessary. It may have been a few years in the making but “Deviate” has been worth the wait and will surely further enhance the reputation of a band that is firmly on the up.