Campus Circle
Nationally-distributed College Magazine
September 1-14, 1999
Vol. 9/Issue 14
Simplistic yet musically savvy, this self-titled debut EP from Heaven’s Burning is laden with straightforward, melodic rock. Carrying the same austerity that bands like The Go-Go’s and The Bangles brought to mainstream America, this three-piece, Southern California-based, all-girl group aren’t afraid to stray away from what’s hip and, as a result, accomplish a sound all its own.
Emancipated from the cookie-cutter sound that plagues much of what makes its way onto radio waves or in the hands of music buyers – and filled with fuzzy guitars, resplendent harmonies, passionate lyrics, steadfast drums and ingratiating, saccharine vocals – Heaven’s Burning is a five song-teaser that showcases the band’s lo-fi goodness. The opening track, “In the Stillness of My Soul,” with its sonorous linger, echoes fiercely, backed by mellifluous riffs and beats. “Shout!” speeds things up a bit, raging with rockin’ guitar, pounding drums and tormented, effective vocals.
Enveloped in an obtuse, Portishead-like savor, “The Box” sluggishly bedevils the listener. “Where can I go to find a place to call my own?/They say I’m lonely, but I’m really just alone,” mourns singer-songwriter Santiago Chung in the dark and mysterious “Love Will Burn.” Upbeat and guitar heavy, “Death Is the Truest Love (It’s the Truest Lie)” is fast, demanding, moody and delivers its message in a little over two-and-a-half minutes.
Heaven’s Burning and its unabashed way of doing things proves that its sound is ppealing to both listeners of underground alternative rock and more mainstream musical aficionados. The band’s EP is a mere tidbit, tantalizing listeners as to what is to come.
– Heather Fuller
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