| The Decline and Fall of Heavenly | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 28 September 1994 | |||
| Recorded | April – June 1994 | |||
| Studio | Shaw Sound, Fulham | |||
| Genre | Twee, indie pop | |||
| Label | Sarah SARAH 623 | |||
| Producer | Ian Shaw | |||
| Heavenly chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Decline and Fall of Heavenly is the third studio album by British indie pop band Heavenly. It was released in September 1994 by Sarah Records [1] in the UK and K Records in the United States. [2]
Four songs were re-recorded for a John Peel radio session in June 1994: the instrumental "Sacramento", "Itchy Chin", "Doomster (Three Star Compartment)", and "Sperm Meets Egg, So What?". [2]
A Japanese reissue on Quattro added five tracks from two British EPs (also released on one CD by both Sarah and K [2] ): "Atta Girl", "Dig Your Own Grave", "P.U.N.K. Girl", "Hearts and Crosses", and "So".
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B [4] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [5] |
Entertainment Weekly states that the music "adds spice with two harmonizing female vocalists sweetly delivering dry, sarcastic lyrics about things like trying to get a lover to leave so you can wake up alone." [4] From AllMusic: "... a cleanly produced sequence of bouncy, guitar-based pop songs—and fans of the band know just how good they are at writing bouncy pop songs. The only problem with The Decline and Fall is that it's so painfully short." [6]
Heavenly are a twee pop band, originally forming in Oxford, England in 1989. Amelia Fletcher (vocals/guitar), Mathew Fletcher, Peter Momtchiloff (guitar) and Robert Pursey (bass) had all been members of Talulah Gosh, a key member of the C86 scene.
Twee pop is a subgenre of indie pop that originates from the 1986 NME compilation C86. Twee pop gets its name from the aesthetic of twee, which is known for its simplicity and childlike innocence. Some of its defining features are boy-girl harmonies, catchy melodies, and lyrics about love. For many years, prominent independent record labels associated with twee pop were Sarah Records and K Records.
K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent music" since the 1980s.
Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop is the third studio album by the American rock band Stone Temple Pilots, released on March 26, 1996, through Atlantic Records. After a brief hiatus throughout 1995, the band regrouped to record the album together at Westerly Ranch in Santa Ynez, California, where they also lived at the time. Like all of the band's albums up to that point, production was handled by Brendan O'Brien.
Cub was an indie pop band from Vancouver, British Columbia, that formed in 1992 and disbanded in 1997. They played a melodic, jangly form of pop punk they called "cuddlecore".
Jennifer Diane Lewis is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She was the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley.
Indie pop is a subgenre of alternative rock and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and subsequently generated a thriving fanzine, label, and club and gig circuit. Compared to its counterpart, indie rock, the genre is more melodic, less abrasive, and relatively angst-free. In later years, the definition of indie pop has bifurcated to also mean bands from unrelated DIY scenes/movements with pop leanings. Subgenres include chamber pop and twee pop.
The Kentucky Headhunters are an American country rock and Southern rock band originating in the state of Kentucky. The band's members are Doug Phelps, Greg Martin, and brothers Richard Young and Fred Young. It was founded in 1968 as Itchy Brother, which consisted of the Young brothers and Martin, along with Anthony Kenney on bass guitar and vocals. Itchy Brother performed until 1982, with James Harrison replacing Martin from 1973 to 1976. The Youngs and Martin began performing as The Kentucky Headhunters in 1986, adding brothers Ricky Lee Phelps and Doug Phelps to the membership.
Bunnygrunt are an American indie pop band from St. Louis, Missouri composed of guitarist and vocalist Matt Harnish and drummer Karen Ried.
Tiger Trap was an American twee-pop foursome composed of high school friends Angela Loy and Rose Melberg, with Heather Dunn and Jen Braun. The group recorded for K Records. The name "Tiger Trap" comes from the very first Calvin and Hobbes cartoon, and was used prior to the formation of the band by Rose Melberg for a solo set in 1991 at the first night of the International Pop Underground Convention, Love Rock Revolution Girl Style Now, inspiring the Beat Happening song of the same name. Formed in Sacramento, California in 1992, they managed to garner something of a cult following before disbanding only a year later. Their last concert took place at Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, in December 1993. Bands they played with include Heavenly, Unwound, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, Girl Trouble, Mecca Normal, Beat Happening, and Tsunami.
¡Simpatico! is the second album by Velocity Girl. It was released in June 1994.
Le Jardin de Heavenly is the second album by twee pop band Heavenly. The album was released on Sarah Records in the United Kingdom and K Records in the United States.
Tullycraft is an American indie pop band from Seattle, Washington, that formed in 1995. They have been associated with the genre of twee pop; in fact, they are considered to be one of the true pioneers of the American twee pop movement. They are known for their DIY ethic, only releasing albums on independently owned and operated record labels.
Ivan Neville is an American multi-instrumentalist musician, singer, and songwriter. He is the son of Aaron Neville and nephew to the other members of The Neville Brothers.
"Everything Changes", sometimes "Everything Changes But You", is a song by English boy band Take That. Released as the fifth single from the band's second studio album, Everything Changes (1993), and written by Gary Barlow and producers Michael Ward, Eliot Kennedy and Cary Bayliss, the song features Robbie Williams on lead vocals.
"Hobart Paving" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne from their second album, So Tough (1993). It was released by Heavenly Records on 11 May 1993 as a double A-side with the band's cover of "Who Do You Think You Are", originally released in 1974 by Jigsaw and a hit for Candlewick Green. It reached number 23 on the UK Singles Chart and number ten on the UK Dance Singles Chart by Music Week.
Heavenly vs. Satan is the first album by British twee pop band Heavenly. It was released by Sarah Records in January 1991, as SARAH 603. No producer is listed in the sleevenotes, although Richard Haines is credited with engineering.
"Come Back to Me" is the second official single released from American Idol season 7 winner David Cook's major label debut studio album, David Cook (2008). It was released as a joint double-A single with "Bar-ba-sol".
"Hug My Soul" is a song by British band Saint Etienne. It was the third single from their third album, Tiger Bay (1994), and was released in September 1994 by Heavenly Records. It was written by vocalist Sarah Cracknell along with songwriting partners Guy Batson and Johnny Male.
P.U.N.K. Girl, also known as Atta Girl in the UK, is an EP by British twee pop band Heavenly, released by K Records on 11 July 1995. In 2005, Pitchfork Media's Nitsuh Abebe wrote that it was "so bouncy and full of hooks that it can take a while to notice it's kind of a concept record about date rape." This release combines the band's 1993 singles P.U.N.K. Girl and Atta Girl, which were released on Sarah Records.
