Hot New Joint: The Band in Heaven- "Dandelion Wine"

If you aren’t familiar with the Bandcamp website—it’s like an abyss; a black hole of music. Pretty much any fledgling musician or band can start a site and host their music on it for people to download, sometimes for free, sometimes for money. Slightly more legit artists use it as a platform to sell merchandise as well, but primarily, it is kind of a dumping ground for anybody with rudimentary knowledge of home recording software.

About two years ago, I was searching through bands in Bandcamp tagged “shoegaze,” which is a common tag, and many times, the band in question probably shouldn’t have tagged themselves with that. In my plummet through the chasm of music, I came across a West Palm Beach then duo (now a five piece) named The Band in Heaven—stylized “the band in Heaven. “

At the time they only had some odds and ends available—the centerpiece of their Bandcamp discography was their demo collection, as well as their forthcoming four-song EP—released in January 2012 as a 7” single via the HoZac label.

It also should be noted that they have an incredible t-shirt available—the “Spooky Dog” shirt. So even if you don’t dig the music, you should probably add this shirt to your wardrobe post haste.

(best shirt.)

The Band in Heaven was loud. Really really loud. Fuzzed out, scuzzy, brash shoegaze post-punk—best exemplified by the songs on their EP.

The Band in Heaven is now not as loud. It’s a surprising, but remarkable direction switch, and it’s what makes their new single, “Dandelion Wine,” as well as their forthcoming full-length LP, Caught In a Summer Swell, an absolute must listen.

Trading in their self described “shitgaze” sound, turning down the overdrive, and turning up the delay and reverb, The Band in Heaven have crafted a set of songs that harken back to the dreamiest dream pop from the days of yore. Assisting in this is the delicate back and forth between founders and vocalists Ates Isildak and Lauren Dwyer.

“Dandelion Wine,” is the opening track off of Caught, and it sets a precedent that is built upon throughout the rest of the album. The song is infectious—excellent pop song sensibilities—covered in jangly and dreamy trappings. It also sets the emotional tone for the rest of the record. Caught In a Summer Swell is not so much a concept album per se, but a song cycle based around the idea of youth, and youth lost.

In speaking briefly with Isildak about the new album and their dramatic shift in sound, he said,” It's an album for those in their mid to late 20's, which I think is an area not many artists cover anymore. The title track is taken from a Ray Bradbury novel by the same name. The closing track is taken from the sequel to the novel, Farewell Summer. We really tried to make the music compliment the lyrics and subject matter and lyrics match the music, in tone, in mood.”

As the sun sets on summer, “Dandelion Wine” is the perfect song to soundtrack those final moments, and Caught In a Summer Swell is a damn near perfect “fall” record.

Caught In a Summer Swell will be available via the band's own Decades Records imprint, on September 17th. The single "Dandelion Wine" is available as a free download, via Soundcloud.