Thursday, January 27, 2011

Album Review: Lower Heaven Today Is All We Have




7.5/10
Today Is All We Have, the latest record from Los Angeles' Lower Heaven begins with swirling synthesizer noise before their layered guitar attack kicks in over a steady, hypnotic rhythm. The overall sound that the band presents on their sophomore effort is haunting, cold, and foreboding though there are moments of warmth and melody that shine through like a break in the clouds. While Los Angeles is currently flooded with groups of feedback-worshipping would-be acid warriors praying to the Gods of Drone, Lower Heaven separate themselves from the pack by incorporating the heavy atmospherics that are a hallmark of this type of music to their advantage by using it in all the right places. "Before You Turn to Dust" starts with a guitar line as sinister as it's song title before slowly building up over a steady back beat.
There is an undeniable versatility demonstrated across Today Is All We Have; On "Firearms" the group flexes some serious muscle and heads into heavier guitar-driven psych-rock territory 'ala Black Mountain while the next track "Wilderness" presents more of a dream-pop vibe like Slowdive at their best. "Done Nothing Wrong" hits you like a bad trip before shifting gears into a riff gnarley enough to make your grandma bob her head. "Shadow People" almost drowns out it's Pornography-era Cure influence under waves of guitar but the group always pulls itself back from the brink of any self-indulgent tendencies to lock back into the groove. All in all, this is a fantastic album and is a must have for fans of The Black Angels, Swervedriver, or The Warlocks.

Lower Heaven Official Site

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