The music that emanates from the Heavenly States is fresh and engaging and every bit as unlikely as the circumstances of the band assembling. Guitarist/vocalist Ted Nesseth advertised for a roommate on Craig’s List, drummer Jeremy Gagon answered the ad and paid for the Chinese take-out that Nesseth couldn’t afford, securing his place in the Oakland, California apartment. Gagon then recruited his sister Genevieve to contribute keyboards, violin and vocals to the blossoming band, ultimately leading to a little holy matrimony between Ted and Genevieve. The trio replaced their bass-programmed iPod with Masanori Mark Christianson, a visual artist, amateur chef and bassist who had grown up in the same Minnesota hometown as Nesseth. Fate doesn’t get much fate-ier than that.
Mix together a couple parts Chuck Prophet channeling Keith Richards, a pinch of chiming indie pop and dashes of naively swaggering Jonathan Richman and Eef Barzelay with occasional dollops of stripped down baroque rock, and the Heavenly States shimmer out of the rising mist. Like Nada Surf with a delightfully impish streak of Beck, the Heavenly States conjure up drama and whimsy with equal passion and often within the same song on their third full length album, Delayer. The quartet seems as comfortable in quiet reflection (“Make Up,” “Butterflies,” “Sun Chase Moon”) as they do in propulsive animation (“Morning Exercises,” “The System,” “Lost in the Light”), and in either pursuit, they inspire a uniquely satisfied and completely energized glow.
--Brian Baker [May 13, 2008]
