The Band in Heaven

Shoegaze/Post-rock

Review by Marie Jeanette Davis

The Band in Heaven’s shoegaze sound is uniquely alternative, and catchy enough to appeal to a wide audience all night long – or enjoy more than once. Derived from the Talking Heads song “Heaven” (The band in Heaven, they play my favourite song. Play it one more time, play it all night long) the band’s name alludes to post-punk and new wave themes the shoegaze genre springs from.

Based in West Palm Beach, Florida, The Band in Heaven recently released a split tape with the Weird Wives (3/5 of Surfer Blood) through Workerbee Records. Listening to the nonchalant, unpolished noise of these contributions is refreshingly neat. The music is in the vein of My Bloody Valentine, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Black Tambourine.

Summer Bummer fades in with atmospheric vibrations. A driving, distorted guitar riff is balanced by muffled, brooding vocals of Ates Isildak. The dreamy reverb sound is complete when Lauren Dwyer backs up Isildak’s lyrics with cute melody.

Suicide Pact yields a sweet take on a morbid subject – “You’re friends ‘til the end”. The repetitive, moody surf riff and lyrics are almost mesmerizing, with a pace to keep you on your toes.

If you like, flick over to demos where you will find a cover of Cranberries’ song Dream.  It’s awesome. As are the gruntier live recordings also available at www.bandcamp.com.

http://thebandinheaven.bandcamp.com/album/the-band-in-heaven-weird-wives-split-tape
http://thebandinheaven.bandcamp.com/album/demos