Considering who exactly makes up ‘Heavens‘, their formation and subsequent release of debut album ‘Patent Pending‘ has gone all but unnoticed. Featuring F-Minus‘ Joe Steinbrick and none other than the Alkaline Trio‘s Matt Skiba on vocals, you’d expect this album to have received massive coverage, and for punk fans the world over to be just as excited as I am about it’s release. It really is a shame, because this album sounds so unexpected and utterly different from either Alk3 or F-minus, it really is something a little bit special.
From the electronic introduction of ‘Gardens’, you can tell immediately that neither Skiba nor Steinbrick is trying to imitate their former work, and this isn’t just a vain attempt at making a bit of extra cash. With Steinbrick’s unique use of electronic instruments, and Skiba utilising the lower end of his vocal range, ‘Patent Pending‘ is a much more laid back affair. Despite the musical approach being something new, lyrically this is Matt Skiba through and through. It’s as dark and inventive as some of his best penned words from Alkaline Trio, and in places surpasses this. Title track ‘Patent Pending‘ continues his ever-present Satanic Influence, as he tells us he’ll ‘be back with 666 in tow’, throughout this tale of death and isolation.
Without a shadow of a doubt, ‘Another Night’ is the finest song here. Following on from a minute long instrumental introduction which shows what exactly Steinbrick can do with the technologies at his disposal, it combines familiar drum beats, irregular guitar chords and some pretty mind-blowing lyrical imagery. It’s the kind of song that makes other musicians kick themselves for not writing it first.
Despite the praise I can give this album, there are still some pretty major flaws. Yes, it’s great to hear something a little different from everything else doing the rounds at the moment, but at times ‘Patent Pending‘ delves into the territory of ‘boring’, and one song, ‘Heather’, stands out in particular as being a pretty unnecessary inclusion. It just doesn’t go anywhere. ‘Dead End Girl’ is similarly sub-par, as it just sounds too ‘pop’ to fit in on the album, and disrupts its flow. Sadly, I can imagine this to be an album with a short lifespan sitting in my CD player.
‘Patent Pending‘ is bound to excite some hardcore Alkaline Trio fans on its release, to see what else Matt Skiba’s capable of. Similarly, fans of F-Minus will be excited to hear Steinbrick do something completely out of his comfort zone, yet I feel for the most part this album will be one overlooked. It’s a shame as it has its own charm and merits and isn’t afraid to go against the grain of the current music scene.
Andrew