Heavens, “Patent Pending” (4/5)

Heavens, the newest project from Alkaline Trio front man Matt Skiba, just released their debut album, “Patent Pending”, on Epitaph Records. The project, which consists of Skiba on vocals and synth and Josiah Steinbrick on bass and guitar, was created while the two friends were living together. Steinbrick had played some instrumental tracks he had recorded to Skiba, who wrote lyrics to them.

This CD is something completely different from anything Skiba ever did with Alkaline Trio. A different set of influences come through on this CD with less misfits and a heavy influence from Sisters Of Mercy. Steinbrick creates a musical world that you will get lost in, with eerie guitar riffs that show a heavy influence from bands such as The Cure and Depeche Mode. Skiba also explores a much lower vocal range then he ever did with Alkaline Trio.

As far as lyrics go, Skiba displays the morbid and sometimes scary imagery we’ve come to expect from him. The second track has some of the most haunting lyrics on the whole album. Skiba sings, “My knife wants to hide deep inside of you/I’ll announce the grand prize/arterial spray paints the carpet.” A stand out track on the CD is “Heather”, a song Skiba sings about a girl who never answers her phone because she’s “busy painting, children in death and decay." The song “Another Night” also contains vivid lyrical imagery of someone being so upset that they spend their nights with their “head in the oven.”

What makes this record so excellent is that it’s so unlike anything Matt Skiba has previously done. This album shows his immense talent as a songwriter, and while the music may be a little hard to get into at first, I can promise that if you give it a few listens you won’t be able to stop listening to it.

Favorite Song: Counting



Reviewed by: Chris