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Hi Sorry State readers! How’s everybody doing? Good, good. We’ve got some cool shows this week in Raleigh. Poison Ruin is playing tonight, but I will probably have to miss it, which sucks because I really like them. I just didn’t realize it was happening tonight until about an hour ago. The end of September has come so fast! We are just getting warmed up for Sorry State Fest quickly approaching! I know the whole thing will be a blast, but the lineups for the main shows on Friday and Saturday are insane. I hope to see you there!
Ok let’s keep talking about music. My pick for this week is Heavenly Blue’s S/T EP brought to us by Sewercide Records. These guys are a Canadian band and feature some of the members of the Booji Boys. I kinda had a hunch I’d like it, but I didn’t think I’d like it as much as I do. It’s a mix of raw 60s garage and the specific kind of 70s rock enjoyed by guys who rev their engines. It’s pleasantly abrasive. The growly, commanding vocals give it a more hard driving, punkier sound. It’s melodic but somewhat aggressive, and approaching weirdo rock territory. Very fuzzed out and guitar driven, with a sprinkling of psychedelic sounds. It sounds less retro than I thought it would, but there is a surfer-rock vibe going on in the opening track called Push on Through.
When I listen to more contemporary sounding garage rock bands, a lot of times the vocals sound like they are recorded in a tunnel or far away from the rest of the band. Heavenly Blue couldn’t sound further from this. The vocals are very in your face and out in front. I like that. I’m big on vocals. If the vocals don’t sound like an actual instrument, then it doesn’t excite me. Needless to say, these vocals do excite me. I went back and listened to their 2021 cassette, which I believe is also S/T, and they’ve come a long way in terms of production. I guess that tends to happen over time, though. But I noticed they also just tightened things up song-wise. This EP sounds more structured and accessible while still sounding rough and unruly. Best of both worlds. All four tracks are high energy, mid-tempo, and average about 2 minutes a song. While it’s a tad short for an EP, it’s a satisfying listen. My favorite track is Drifter, which is very riff-driven and melodic. It’s the one song that almost tips the scales at three minutes. The rhythm section does a killer job in the closing track, Zap the World, particularly the infectious bass line. As an aside, I must say that I really like the simple packaging with the brown paper bag looking sleeve complimented by the retro looking blue labels. This is a limited run of 300 copies, so don’t sleep on this one! Thanks so much for reading! Until next time..
Thanks,
Angela