Album Review- Heavenly- Highway to Heavenly

I first became aware of Heavenly from the college radio station in the nineties. They were signed to K Records which history has shown to be one of American indie rocks most important record labels. They were one of the foremost places for riot grrl but they also a good deal of female led jangle and indie pop bands that I loved. Besides Heavenly, there was Lois, The Softies and Tiger Trap. But down the roster there were a lot of interesting artists. Beck, Beat Happening and Karp all had records. When indie rock cooled, they anticipated the next generation- the first EP from Modest Mouse, the first album from the Microphones and a compilation of songs by Built to Spill.

 Heavenly made four albums in the 90s and a couple of EPs- all worth while (despite NME giving a complete roast review on 1992s Le Jardin de Heavenly). The band broke up in 1996 not because they had run their course but because drummer Matthew Fletcher committed suicide. There was a 1999 album with a spinoff band Marine Research and four albums a decade later from a further spinoff called Tender Trap. 

I cannot mention Heavenly though without some mention of the previous band that Matthew, his sister and lead singer Amelia Fletcher, and guitarist Peter Momtchiloff were in. Talulah Gosh was a John Peel favorite and their short 1986-1988 existence predates Morrissey’s solo career, Belle and Sebastian and so much more. They weren’t on the seminal C86 album (as were Primal Scream, the Wedding Present and the Soup Dragons) but they were part of that scene which birthed indie pop forming as a band that bonded over a shared love for the Pastels. They only recorded a total of 29 songs and most of that stuff was hard to find until they were collected for a compilation in 2013 Parallel to the K Records story in America, they were signed to Sarah Records in the UK. That’s a fantastic story too but it was largely a mystery to me in the US Heavenly reunited in 2023 and released a single in 2025. 

Heavenly started 2026 by announcing a new album and February brought us Highway to Heavenly - their first album in 30 years. It’s nice to see that the band hasn’t missed a step and that if you liked their particular brand of music, then you will be happy with the new album. It is also a testament that the music- vocal harmony, intelligent lyrics, catchy hooks and mid-song shifts still sounds cutting edge. Heavenly predates Belle and Sebastian, Camera Obscura, and the Shins but they don’t sound out of touch. This is quite an enjoyable return from a long time favorite.