REVIEW: The Band in Heaven - Sleazy Dreams

Today's exploration of a recent 7" recording focuses on an enthralling twist on the shoegaze and dreampop genres, so it probably is fitting that it comes from a place where you wouldn't expect to look for this kind of music. On Sleazy Dreams, West Palm Beach's The Band In Heaven delivers a sludgy, droning, psychedelic soundtrack topped by deadpan vocals. Here is the title track, "Sleazy Dreams" --

The Band In Heaven - "Sleazy Dreams" from the band in Heaven on Vimeo.

The Band In Heaven is Ates Isildak, Lauren Dwyer, Jay Tillman, and Ryan Burk. Musically, the band may remind the listener of Austin psychedelic outfit Black Angels, but lyrically they are in their own place of dark dreams infused with some less than complimentary views on organized religion. The 7" consists of four songs. "Sleazy Dreams", with its big, relentless beat, and "Summer Bummer are the most uptempo. "Sludgy Dreams", a video for which is below, is a hazy take on Aleister Crowley's Book of Lies.

Sleazy Dreams is released on Chicago's HoZac Records. The above track and the album closer, below, give you a good feel for the album, so if you decide to take the plunge, you can be comfortable about what you're getting. However, you can stream all four tracks at the end of this post. In case you didn't focus on it when you waded into this review, the cover art features dogs costumed for Halloween, and is one of my favorite album covers in a long time.

"Sludgy Dreams"

the band in Heaven - Sludgy Dreams from the band in Heaven on Vimeo.

The Band In Heaven will be playing at SXSW next month.

You can stream the entire 7" here:


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