LP Review: Heavenly Beat “Prominence”

by Irene Lo

Heavenly Beat, solo project of former Beach Fossils member John Pena, releases Prominence, the sophomore follow-up to his 2012 debut album Talent. For those who have listened to Talent, Prominence is its undisputed heir and for those who haven’t, this is a CD you find at the local grocery store with other discs like Sleep or Ocean Sounds.

Heavenly Beat is most successful when Pena ventures to evoke in the listener an emotional connection that goes beyond mental relaxation. “Stable” and “Prominence” are tracks well worth their value. They are captivating while maintaining that recognizable blend of chill indie and whisper vocals. The mellotron is, along with the guitar, dynamically employed to create an arresting melody. There is life. “Prominence” is lit up with guitar plucking and an ambient atmosphere that is engaging. The quiet moments are effective.

That being said, Prominence does not do anything Talent has not already done. The most significant detraction to enjoying or distinguishing between the nine tracks is that the listener’s growing disinterest is due to the fact that there is no song that stands out and grabs one’s attention. This is problematic, because you can put this album on, do other things, think other things, and completely disconnect from it, similar to taking in but not processing the music played in doctor’s offices or elevators.

“Lengths” introduces us to breezy guitar chords and Pena’s nice breathy falsetto. “Lengths” sets the mood for the rest of the album, and that mood is ultimately too tranquil. “Complete”, as the second track, is also the first single to be released off of Prominence and it has been touted by some as a summer song. It includes a catchy hook with “it’s got me feeling like/I’ll dance if I want tonight”, but it does not leave the strongest lasting impression when it is followed by “Familiar” and “Expectation”, songs that both incorporate a guitar riff mimicking one another. What adds to this mental bog is the grandiose titles attached to the tracks themselves such as “Familiar” or “Forever.” One-word titles tend to pack a punch, because there is a sense of the definitive, of authority, but the tunes themselves get weighed down and do not come up to scratch to their ambitious-sounding names.

What is, perhaps, the most interesting aspect to Prominence is the process it took Pena to create it. Pena began work on it earlier this year after putting aside a fair share of songs that were not compelling enough, which is somewhat bewildering considering the crops Prominence has yielded. He utilizes the piano and mellotron instead of the computer for keyed instruments. There is a musical connection to the hit Primitive Radio God’s song “Standing Outside a Broken Telephone Booth with Money in my Hand” in a mutual goal to craft simple tracks. The mechanics of creating quality songs without an overreliance on computer tones is intriguing, and there is nothing inherently boring or wrong with songs that are shaped by a basic formula. Yet, this does not excuse Prominence for producing the type of ennui that is not shoegazing but listless.

Album release date: August 15, 2013