The Brooklyn shoegaze trio’s third LP is out now via Little Cloud Records
As spring offers a mixed bag of culture, music seems to truly be winning the day. With pop still the reigning champ among genres, it’s no surprise that splinter subgenres have filled the gap for those eager to explore, yet need that comforting touch to do so. Heaven, the New York City band, are just the trio to assist. With the release of their album, Dream Aloud, the musicians send listeners on a path with musical gifts galore. Fans will lose themselves and not want to find their way back home.
The album’s title track is a comforting one. It offers a familiar entry to the ears that then turns into more of a deep sense of reminiscing. It is hard to ignore nor does the heart desire to. There’s a level playing field of sounds – indie, shoegaze, dream pop – that holds out a graceful hand. Within the song lingers a rattling of hope that encourages the listener to fight for what is good. Even the lyrics sound like a welcomed friend. Maybe some fans will be sentimental while listening for their own reasons, but that’s art in a nutshell. Heaven really gives a tribute to their name; their musical sanctuary beckons, and you can purchase Dream Aloud HERE.
They shared their thoughts on the creation of this new body of work, and what the year holds for them.
What elements did you alter or enhance going into creating Dream Aloud?
For this record we changed things up a bit. The last time around we used lots of layering of guitars and synths, creating new sounds out of combinations of sounds…but with Dream Aloud [we] wanted to simplify things a bit, sticking to two or three guitar parts, minimal synth and organ, and also scaling back what parts would have delay and reverb, using effects selectively to make a greater impact.
Which track on the album gave you all the most trouble and why?
The title track “Dream Aloud“. The initial recordings of it started with acoustic guitar, like a few of the songs on the record. It sounded beautiful that way, but we wanted it to be a loud rock song. So after adding the drums and the bass and lots of loud guitars, it just wasn’t gelling right. It took a lot of mixing and changing various things, changing guitar tones. Still wasn’t right, so we asked our friend Steve Schiltz to add some magic. He plays the guitar solo and added tons of other amazing overdubs. After that it still wasn’t right. We ended up sending the drum stems to Al Carlson, our friend who mixed our last LP. He worked his magic on the drums and it all finally came together.
What is your ideal venue for your sound and why?
There are so many amazing venues in the world that of course we would love to play. But …the Bowery Ballroom is that ideal place for us. It is the perfect size and vibe and old school feel, and it is in NYC, our home. We always end up hanging out there.
What hopes do you have for 2025 and how can things get better in your eyes and why?
It’s been a few years since our last record, so this year with a new release we just want to get this music of ours into as many people’s hearts and minds as possible. Playing as much live as possible, getting out there to see everyone face to face. And we’re hoping to start working on new music to get a new record done sooner than later.
What advice do you have for musicians entering the space now that you wish you had known?
It’s such a different landscape from when we started the band, let alone when we started touring and recording as musicians. With everything dominated by social media and the prominence of AI now, it’s so important to get out there and interact with people face to face, and make the music and art as organically as possible. Any way that we can connect on a real level as humans is so important, weeding through all the digital noise that surrounds us.
