Heaven for Real
Kill Your Memory
Halifax, NS
Mint Records
I am having a weird music summer where I vowed to myself that I’d only listen to Electric Wizard and “Cheap Thrills” by Sia on repeat (yes, the Sean Paul version) until the end of time. Then this beautiful album appeared in my life like a soothing dove landing on my shoulder. Or maybe its more apt to liken what Heaven for Real is doing with Kill Your Memory to night owls in flight. Mark and Scott Grundy write lyrics that dig into my scalp like the talons of a big bird of prey perched on my skull.
This record is filled with beautiful twisting musical mysteries. The title track is a dream of janky “Jocko Homo”-styled guitars with an unsettling thread of psychic anti-social strangeness: “Alongside the building/ waiting like we would have at a show/I’ve seen a glare popping out from behind your mind,” they muse. Other songs have a chill Pavement vibe for a min, while “Hard Done By” has a Talking Heads-ish “Road to Nowhere”-era frolic to it. However I feel awkward comparing Heaven for Real to other bands because they’re so mutable. The Grundys are very adept at lulling you into a feeling of certain dolorous bliss and waking you with changes – a twist of dissonance, a burst of staticky pops or a dizzy jazzy breakdown that weaves in and out of itself. The band is rounded out with Cheryl Hann (Old and Weird) and Nathan Doucet (formerly of Crosss) on drums and they’re good and smart and play with enormous feeling. This album is mega: listen, feed your head, clean your soul. Pre-order it here (it’s out July 15).
Alison Lang is the editor of Broken Pencil and loves birds of prey.