the band in Heaven
Caught in a Summer
Swell
Decades
Street: 09.17
the band in Heaven = Phantom Planet + The Cure
First off, why do you insist on making my life miserable by only capitalizing the last word in your name? My computer’s ready to have a seizure from me constantly changing its corrections. Annoying name aside, the band in Heaven combine dream pop with California nostalgia. Straightforward lyrics about ocean swells and summer romanticize adolescence. Honestly, it’s something I’ve heard a million times before, and the band’s whole image is something I grew tired of, like, five years ago. It’s not bad by any means—the musicians know what they’re doing—but this whole surfer-living-in-the-summer-sun concept just doesn’t do it for me anymore. They should’ve just written the entire soundtrack for The O.C., made their millions and called it quits, because this “genre” has been overdone for years. But if you want an album full of summer anthems, this is the one for you. –Allison Shephard