Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site throughout its seven-year history, you’d know that I’ve written quite a bit about the Grand Rapids, MI-based psych rock quartet and JOVM mainstays HEATERS. And as you may recall, the band, which formed back in 2014 quickly received a growing national and international profile with their attention grabbing appearance on Stolen Body‘s Vegetarian Meat psych rock compilation. The Grand Rapids, MI-based quartet quickly followed up with the Solstice EP, released through Dizzybird Records and the “Mean Green” 7 inch. Renowned, Brooklyn-based indie label Beyond Is Beyond Records released their full-length debut Holy Water Pool to critical applause throughout the blogosphere back in 2015. And with each successive recorded effort, the band began to firmly cement a reputation for crafting a spacey, motorik-like take on West Coast, 60s psych rock and garage rock.
As you may recall, after the release of their sophomore effort Baptistina the band went through a massive lineup change in which the band’s founding members Nolan Krebs and Joshua Korf are currently paired with newest recruits Ryan Hagan and Ben Taber. And interestingly enough “Seance,” the first single off the band’s forthcoming third album Matterhorn retains the gorgeously shimmering guitar lines, propulsive, motorik-like groove and enveloping sound that first caught the attention of this site and the e rest of the blogosphere; however, there’s a noticeably different energy and vibe to the proceedings — simply put, “Seance” reveals a band with a swaggering self-assuredness within what arguably may be their most expansive and ambitious songwriting. Matterhorn‘s second single “Thanksgiving II” continued along a similar vein as its predecessor, as it prominently featured the band’s propensity for crafting tight, motorik grooves paired with shimmering guitar lines and ethereal vocals. But while the song may be among the most trance-inducing they’ve released, it’s also one of the more arena friendly songs they’ve written and released to date, with the song slowly unfurling to reveal its creators’ ambitious and expansive songwriting.
“Kingsday,” Matterhorn‘s third and latest single while possessing the stalwart elements of their sound — towering and shimmering layers of guitar chords and ethereal vocals and a trance-inducing, lysergic vibe, but within its four minute run time, the song reveals an expansive song structure consisting of four subtle yet discernible movements connected by a chugging motorik groove — and interestingly enough, the song may arguably be one of the most decidedly 60s influenced songs they’ve released in quite some time.
