Perhaps a prisoner of my own tunnel vision, if I had been asked to guess about the sound of the music created by John Pena, formerly of the Beach Fossils, for his independent project, I'm quite sure that I wouldn't have suggested bright, synth-based melodies with blissed out summery arrangements. But that is what Heavenly Beat delivers on Talent, Pena's debut LP for Captured Tracks. With vocals evocative of Sweden's The Radio Dept. and tones reminiscent of Seattle's Beat Connection, this album delivers a note-perfect summer soundtrack. Here is the official video for track "Tradition" --
As soon as I heard the album, I knew what to do with it. I packed some beverages, loaded on to the When You Motor Away powerboat and headed out for some late afternoon and early evening wake surfing and cocktails with Heavenly Beat providing the perfect background. There is even some Latin rhythms to liven up the proceedings.
You can stream the entire album below.
It seems that Pena has been recording as Heavenly Beat since 2009, and has released a 7" and a few singles. However, Talent is my introduction to the project. And a welcome introduction it is. I can only hope that John has another treat planned for next summer.
Soundcloud
Captured Tracks
No comments:
Post a Comment