Mister Heavenly — the trio of Ryan Kattner (Man Man), Nicholas Thorburn (Islands, The Unicorns) and Joe Plummer (Cold War Kids, Modest Mouse, The Shins) — is proud to announce their sophomore album Boxing The Moonlight, due October 6, 2017 via Polyvinyl Record Co. To ring in the announcement, the band has shared album opener “Beat Down.”
Mister Heavenly dabbled in love and affection on their first record, 2011’s Out of Love (Sub Pop). This time, however, the band is in a scrappy mood as they embrace a tougher sound on their new album, Boxing the Moonlight.
“It seemed like it was a good idea to pivot from the subject matter of the first record,” Thorburn says. “That was maybe a more emotional thing, and I think this record is much more physical.”
The physicality is evident right from the start, in the hammering piano and terse rhythm that fuel opener “Beat Down,” or in the buzzing chaos on “Dead Duck,” a psych-heavy freakout that evokes the Monks. The experimental ’60s garage-rockers aren’t the only musical reference point on Boxing the Moonlight. Seventies Krautrock band Faust was a big influence while the songs were being written, as was the sound of hip-hop production in the late ’80s and early ’90s, which informed the deep groove of “Hammer Drop” and the spacious guitar sound on “Magic Is Gone.” Meanwhile, “Crazy Love, Vol. III,” is a smooth jam with an ulterior motive.
“My only hope is that ‘Crazy Love’ can be somebody’s wedding song,” Kattner says. “But the bride has a shiv hidden in her dress.”
If it sounds eclectic, that’s no coincidence, though Mister Heavenly’s knack for catchy hooks ensures that it all hangs together with remarkable cohesion. “I personally hate albums where every song sounds the same,” Kattner says. “It all makes sense in the grand scheme of things. People are complicated. People have a lot of different vibes running through them at any given moment.”
Mister Heavenly tour dates:
10/20 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah #
10/21 – Los Angeles, CA @ Resident #
10/22 – San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall #
10/24 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge #
10/25 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza #
11/02 – New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
11/03 – Allston, MA @ Great Scott
11/04 – Providence, RI @ Alchemy
11/05 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
11/06 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
11/08 – Toronto, ON @ Drake Hotel
11/09 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe
11/11 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
