Heavenly Beat – T A L E N T

Somewhere in the vernacular of our consciousness exists an unwritten rule that all things heavenly should be light and airy. When Beach Fossils’ bassist John Pena elected to form his basement side project Heavenly Beat, he ensured its moniker continued to fit the traditional characteristics associated with heaven, all bar a choir of singers in a cathedral setting. Heavenly Beat’s debut, T A L E N T, is a lovely collection of beats, delicate vocals, soft synths and flamenco guitar all swirling about to form a fluffy, float-on-a-cloud pop affair. Despite the name and tracks like ‘Messiah’ and ‘Faithless’, though, T A L E N T is not about finding your spiritual groove, but rather it is a love story dressed in a pink cover to celebrate the occasion.

The album is largely uneventful, maintaining a steady stream of clean ambient synths, soft vocals, jazzy Spanish guitars and simple, elegant beats. It’s a nice album to have on in the background over dinner, but don’t expect it to generate too much conversation, one highlight and a low point excepted.

‘Faithless’ is a stand-out thanks in large part to the sprightly synth motif, a familiar sounding Latin jazz strumming section and the sweet chorus of “If I fall/Then at least I fall”. It is a pleasant listen with a nice melody that gets repeated a little too often over the course of the 4 minutes, but maintains its sing-ability throughout.

The album finishes with something akin to an annoying insect in the house during sleeping hours. While John’s voice smoothly reaches falsettos with little effort on ‘Consensual’, there is an awkwardly-placed repetition pleading us to go “higher” that badly plagues the song as early as the 30 second mark, and continues pretty much throughout the duration. For added effect, between verses, the vocal intrusion repeats ad nauseam until interrupted by the start of the next section. This is definitely a conversation starter, but probably one you would want to avoid at your next dinner party.

In between the highs and lows are collection of smooth-sounding tracks liable to ease you into a dreamlike state. ‘Hurting’ features a slightly sharper synth sound resembling steel drums, but maintains the consistent vibe established from the onset of the album. ‘Influence’, the shortest track, is a less a pop song and more about featuring the smooth plucks of the nylon guitar. It would have served as a nice finish had the aforementioned track not been a part of the record

T A L E N T is certainly not obtrusive and you are not likely to reach for the “next” button during a spin. However, you’d be hard pressed to connect with any tracks on a deeper level. Consider the album a decent, mellow collection of sweet, upbeat synth-pop.

Listen to Talent