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The Heavenly
States: Self-Titled
The debut release from the Heavenly States is another from the seemingly endless succession of bands that have worn out their copy of The Bends and are busy working their way through Parachutes. Its a crisp, clean, modern rock record and while the band can sometimes wear its influences on its sleeve, the songs are solid and played well. My advance copy looks like it is in a slightly different order and features more songs than the official release, but Im going to be working off my copy since thats the order Im used to hearing. The album beings with the short, curious, Whats the Intro Morning Glory, obviously an allusion to the Oasis tune, which starts much the same way. After this brief track, American Borders kicks in, and while at times the riff sounds slightly math-rocky, it settles into a bridge that is torn directly from the Toad the Wet Sprocket songbook. The Story Of is next, and the off-kilter violin featured throughout the track gives the song a manic feel. The themes of the record are your usual girls, faith, etc., and Ted Nesseths strong vocals help anchor the album. The record is very well produced, and the use of studio bells and whistles is kept to a minimum. The only misstep that I can hear, a slow and ponderous cover of the Las Timeless Melody, is rectified by the lack of its presence on the final, official release. This is a strong debut for a band that seems to know exactly what type of music it wants to make. Although you could make the claim that we already have enough (or more than enough) modern rock bands, you have to acknowledge that the Heavenly States do what they do pretty well, and easily could be heard on todays radio alongside Coldplay, Matchbox 20 and 3 Doors Down.
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