This is fine.
Today is an unbelievably crowded day on the release scene, and well, we figured we’d point you in the right direction of a few of our favorite releases that hit today. There honestly are so many, and all you have to do it just hang out on the site and stream until you can stream no more! Hit the jump and find something to adore! You can also play the fun game of 7 Degrees of ATH Records too!
The new single from Heavenly opens with one of the band’s secret weapons, the combined swell of melody from Amelia and Cathy, and that gets things started in the right direction. Angular strums come in, with the the bass and drums creating a head-bobbing bounce that provides the energy with a light sway as they dive into the tune’s jittering grooves. Little bits of synth and guitar stabs are offered in this instrumental breakdown that reminds me how close jangling guitars are to classic reggae stepping. They’ve incorporated a modern twist on the A-Ha classic “Take On Me” video that you can catch below, only it’s spun through a YouTube video format as opposed to the comic version from the original. Highway to Heavenly is out via Skepwax on February 27th.
Legendary indiepop act Heavenly have been fairly active the last few years, offering up reissues of their catalogue, as well as a little compilation of their hits (they’re all hits, dammit!). Alas, today comes the news we’ve been holding out for, a brand new LP! They come out of the gates swinging, using the interplay between Cathy and Amelia to recall a teenage romance with the nerdiest person in school; you can tell that their ability to harmonize and drive melody into our ears hasn’t escaped. When the chorus opens up and drives that punk energy into the hook you instantly get taken back to the glory days of the Sarah Records scene. You’re day can only get better from here. Grab Highway to Heavenly from Skep Wax before its February 27th release date. And, there will be a slew of dates to follow the release, though sadly no Austin show!
When British poet Brian Bilston signed on to work with the Catenary Wires (Rob and Amelia of Heavenly), I’ll admit that I was curious as to how it would work. Their collective collaboration led to Sounds Made by Humans, which danced between spoken-word and delightful indiepop; I think the new video below is the perfect all-encompassing piece, and one of the standouts on the LP. A rush of jangling guitars, soaring harmonies and a little bit of percussive stomp set the tone, but Bilston’s appearance seems fitting for the style, offering a contrast, both lyrically and tonally, setting up the little jig that the guitar line walks between verses. The video takes old Heavenly promo footage and incorporates the song, sealing the circle of Bilston’s love with Rob and Amelia’s old band; this video celebrates the LP out on Skep Wax, as well as a forthcoming tour through the UK!
Going to be a bit of an off week, as RayRay is out on vacation, and I head out on the latter half of the week, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t crush it last week. I was finally able to let the cat out of the bag about new music from Heavenly/Swansea Sound; RayRay dropped the premiere for new ATX powerhouse, Porcelain. Oh, and B. Gray was coming through with sick photo work from Kilby Block Party and OMD, so we’re really just trying to make your musical world better. There’s a bunch of sweet jams, though I’ll admit I’m really loving the Slow Summits new tune, as well as the cover by Glass Spells. Stream below and feel free to comment on what you loved and what we missed!
We have been sitting on this news for some time, it’s finally the day that we can share there is a brand new Heavenly tune ready to take over the world! The legendary indiepop group has been quiet for the 29 years, though a string of reissues and a handful of shows seems to have relit the fire. It takes ten seconds for the band to lock into a proper bounce, punctuated by stuttering guitar licks and a solid snap on the drums. Of course, Amelia’s voice, as we’ve known, has all the hook and magic one would want, particularly when it switches tones in the chorus. This is the most delicious pop tune you’ll hear today; the new 7″ is available via Skep Wax on July 18th!
One of the acts braving long flights to come into SXSW this Spring is Delivery, and I’ve been pretty stoked with the work they’ve been cranking out lately. Today, they’ve got another single from their Force Majeure LP, and as we’ve come to expect, they take a note from their Oceanic peers, but then ramp it up with a bit pace and attitude; it’s more of a straight-ahead rocker, but it doesn’t miss a single step in terms of its natural charms. This new single arrives just in time for you to fall in love with their pattern of switching up vocalists, then you can grab the new LP tomorrow when it drops via Heavenly.
It may not have been a week covered in big names, but there were tons of ridiculously quality tunes dropped this last week. We had tons of ATX stuff, from Daily Worker to Wet Dip to S.L. Houser to Voxtrot, so we were all over that. I fell in love with Dumb Things, which is the Aussie outfit opening up this week’s playlist. But, it’s probably a toss up for me whether the new track from The Witching Waves got more plays than that new Weakened Friends. A ripper of a week with some new names we hadn’t come across before like Amelia Coburn, so give the whole mix a Monday morning spin.
It’s been a wonderful year for Heavenly fans, particularly if you’re hanging out on TikTok where the band exploded with their classic hit “P.U.N.K. Girl.” Luckily, the mass amount of streams and interest has encouraged the band’s reissue push, and now they’ve announced the third installment by reissuing the Decline and Fall of Heavenly in February of next year! Plus, the band have decided to reconvene in the live setting, with a show scheduled in Madrid and a show in NYC this coming June! Personally, I’m hoping for a Rob vs Calvin battle royale, but if not, at least you’ll get an incredible show with some of the most endearing pop songs you’ve ever heard. Grab the reissue HERE.
Okay, so perhaps the groundwork for the debut was written nearly 40 years ago, but The Five Year Plan has finally made the recording of the aforementioned record! Still, they wanted to stay true to the original demos, so recorded them as is, all technological advances aside. The band features members of acts like Heavenly and Charlie Tipper Rebellion, so you’ll hear some familiar sounds if you’ve hear us write about those acts. It’s amazing to hear a band create songs that sound so relevant now, but also be able to hear the licks and nods they were putting into their own craft…mentions of Go Betweens and The Only Ones never hurt at this house. It was a long time coming, and we’re so glad the band are finally getting to have their say in the music world. 1985 will be released on Breaking Down Recordings on September 4th.
