Reviews

Heavens

Patent Pending

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Review Date: 2006-11-20

Meet Heavens, its Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio and Josiah Steinbrick from F-Minus. Seems like a bit of an odd combo doesn’t it? No, they aren’t a Christian rock band; the product of this merger is Patent Pending, an album that is a stark contrast from its punk rock step-siblings.

Conceived initially by Steinbrick, the friendship that spawned Patent Pending began several years ago when Skiba moved to Los Angeles from Chicago, and wound up becoming housemates with Steinbrick. The album was written in about a week in August of 2004 when Skiba laid down the vocals to Steinbrick’s already recorded demos. It was then taken to a real recording studio and over three months Steinbrick directed all of the instrumentation while Skiba provided the melodies. The result is an album that harks back to the mid 80’s, reminiscent of bands like Depeche Mode, Brian Eno and the Sisters of Mercy, almost entirely electronic with heavy Goth influence.

On Patent Pending the world is introduced to another side of Skiba’s vocal abilities as he trades in his lighter punk rock yelp for a more serious lower tone. This tailored singing pays off well when backed by Steinbrick’s drum machines and electronic soundscapes. The production on the album is clean but not over produced which in turn gives it more of an organic feel. What does that mean? Well that means that it doesn’t sound like just a studio project, it sounds like a real band.

When you throw this thing in the old cd player right off the bat you get a good indication of what Heavens is about. The first track “Gardens” outlines the dark mood with lyrics that describe a world reminiscent of the cold war era: “The anger grows in fields as far as naked eyes can see blood drops from the sky like acid rain from tongue to nervous systematic shame we do or kill most anyone to be its do or die, it's up to you and me, G.O.D”. All this behind an eerie waving musical backdrop, the music rarely insinuates any optimism. Additionally Steinbrick incorporates string instruments to the mix as outlined in “Heather” which only add to the gloomy depth of this project. The title track “Patent Pending” is one that could easily find its way onto my year end mix cd as it is probably enough to make you dance and maybe cry at the same time.

Patent Pending is not a monumental release by any stretch of the imagination but it is a refreshing change from the norm. If you’re tired of trying to find re-issues by Joy Division, Depeche Mode or The Jesus and Mary Chain, give Heavens a spin you’ll likely find it enjoyable. It’s certainly worth checking out even if you’ve never heard of Alkaline Trio or F-Minus. In essence Patent Pending is a release that will set the bar for which any subsequent release by Skiba and Steinbrick will be judged, and that bar is fixed well above the ground.

Score: 8.1

- Mark Browdy