Remember a time, like, two years ago when you could go to a show and not have too many worries about doing so? Well, if you’re jonesing for a live music experience, we’ve got you covered with our premiere today.
Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, self-described sludgegaze three-piece Another Heaven has a new release, III: The Sorrowful Cries of Birds with Singed Feathers, lined up to drop on August 27th. In anticipation of the album, which incidentally features a song entitled “Only Death is Real,” the band has a five-song live set dubbed “Alive in Hell” ready to share.
In regards to the set, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Ali Jaafar says this:
“Alive in Hell was recorded in March of 2021 shortly after we finished recording our new album. It was right before we all got vaccinated and we basically undertook it as an experiment; a way to see if we could all play live while still taking covid precautions. Aaron (drums/vocals) and I (guitar/vocals) are in the same room while Cole (Bass/Vocals) is in a different room across the hall. We all wore masks - Aaron and I out of necessity and Cole out of solidarity. We monitored everything through a headphone mix and basically did our best to play like we normally would. Now that we are back to playing together in the same room, it's weird to watch this footage back. There's a weird disconnect that isn't really representative of how we play live but that also feels very fitting, given the album's themes - depression, alienation, things falling apart, etc.
I feel like the last year and a half was a time in which everyone experienced extreme emotions and watched many aspects of our society/daily lives burst into flame and burn brightly for a moment before dying out. I remember feeling that we were entering something like a "hopeless utopia" where disease, inequality and death were so deeply baked into our society that the only panacea was to band together with your friends and try to do something cool in defiance. I view this set as a pure expression of that idea; a transmission from a hopeless utopia where you have to take extreme precautions - like sticking your bass player in a different room dubbed the "Cole Chamber" - to see your friends and drink beers under a smoke-filled sky. The smoke could be from drifting wildfires or burning buildings, it doesn't really matter. It all smells like shit."
III: The Sorrowful Cries of Birds with Singed Feathers can be preordered here. Enjoy the set below.
