Above: Olympia residents Calvin Johnson and Lois Maffeo make a cameo appearance in the new Heavenly videograph for song "Excuse Me."
As most of the Western World is aware, the frolicsome & feisty pop underground/underpants favorites, Heavenly, have emerged from their Oxford-bound hibernation of the last few decades to overwhelm followers (who have only multiplied in numbers during the combo's absence) with scads of frillsome guitar and keyboard heart-topping anthems and live performances. After last summer's kicky "Portland Town" one would think they'd shot their wad, but no just this week Heavenly dish up another sillacious view into their ever-active mind, "Excuse Me" (Skep Wax). The subject matter involves more observations on the social make-up of their friends, family and passing acquaintances. It's also a real toe-tapper of a good time.
The videograph accompanying "Excuse Me" features visual aids, photogs from all sorts of aging pop somebodies in their full-blooming youthish days. You'll recognize most of them: Erin, Harriet, Cuthbert, Tina, Archipelago, Bob, Ruth, Bug Bear, Hearns, Diana; the usual suspects still found in the pit long past their pull date.
One minute into the "Excuse Me" videograph appears a photog of Calvin Johnson and Lois Maffeo, both of whom played, at different times in the '90s, a handful of shows with Heavenly around the Untied States and Great Britain. This particular frame captures Lois and Calvin in 1985, long before they were even aware of Heavenly or their antecedents. Such blissful ignorance. A mere 16 months after this shot was taken the world was turned upside down by the debut release of TWO Talulah Gosh 45rpm phonograph records by the 53rd & 3rd Records label ON THE SAME DAY, and none of us was ever the same again.
And now the new Heavenly single "Excuse Me" is brazenly thrust upon us, a preview of the upcoming Heavenly album Highway to Heavenly (Skep Wax), due in a few months hence. Anticipate.
Above: the Heavenly of "Excuse Me" and Highway to Heavenly (Skep Wax) era.