Some great albums create musical movements. Some define certain genres. Some don’t sound like anything you’ve ever heard. Some speak to something deeply personal at the certain moment you first hear it.
Still other great albums don’t try and reinvent the wheel, they keep it simple but make do everything to near perfection. Delayer by The Heavenly States fits that mold to perfection.
Everything about this album just feels right, each song seem so natural. The Heavenly States do a tremendous job of balancing songs that rock out with slow soft songs on Delayer. The result is an album that doesn’t grow stale in the least with repeat listens, instead rewarding the listener with its precision.
The album starts in full throttle with a series of tunes that aren’t afraid to have fun while rocking out. The opener, “Morning Exercise” is a blissful little ditty with a chorus that seems like a tongue and cheek call out to other artists who forgot the enjoyment of the music along the way, with lyrics that go, “It hurts so bad, this goes on the record. This goes on the record it hurts so bad.”. The great opener is followed by two songs that keep up the frantic pace. “The System” starts with a dirty guitar intro/solo that seems to have a mind of it’s own, it’s almost like an untamed entity of its own, and it’s wild nature continues as the band tries to harness it without caging it for the rest of the song. The results are simply fantastic. The third song “Lost In The Light” seems like a gospel tune for the lost rockers, complete with an actual gospel choir singing backup vocals. These songs strip rock and roll down to it’s roots to get the soul of the music and then add musical layers on top to achieve a big detailed sound.
When the fifth track, arrives the band goes in a completely different direction, a downshift if you will, with “Sun Chase Moon.” The song is one of the most poignant I’ve heard in recently memory. Its lyrics and vocals combine the despair of loss with the unavoidable struggle of continuing on past it. It is followed by the two tracks in “Butterflies” and “Roses” that keep the tenderness, all without ever seeming sappy. These songs are the type that lesser bands often try to force in order to meet a perceived quota for slow, soft, emotional songs. But nothing The Heavenly States do here is in the least bit forced.
The album doesn’t wind down as much as it heads full steam towards the finish line. “Never Be Alright” sounds like the perfect tune for a modern barn hoedown, including that swinging sound and a violin played to sound like a fiddle. The album closer, “The Race,” wraps things up in style with a chorus full of melodically sung intervals and one more cruchy guitar riff.
A ton of credit for Delayer‘s success must be given to lead singer/guitarist Ted Nesseth. While he might not posses the most beautiful set of pipes, he makes the absolute most of what he has. His vocals are so expressive and completely relay the emotion of each song. When he starts wailing, like he does on “Lost In The Light,” you can feel him strain for a note or two, but it only enhances the overall feeling of exuberance in the song.
To me Delayer is everything that a pure rock record should be. It’s fun, loud, and fast, but it’s also sad, soft, and slow. In a day and age wrought with over-thought indie rock with umpteen band members creating too much sound to digest, Delayer doesn’t overdo a thing. And man; is that incredibly refreshing.
Review Score: 9.1
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