The Band in Heaven

For your consideration: Florida's the Band in Heaven. And while their sound may not be "heavenly" per se, it is evocative of some of the most iconic shoegazers (i.e., the Jesus and Mary Chain, Yo La Tengo, and the Cocteau Twins, for example). Though they reflect music's fuzzed out, distorted past nicely, the Band in Heaven's songs also recall current acts like the Raveonettes, Deerhunter, or the Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

And here is my point: this rising band has the potential to join the current shoegaze revival. The Band in Heaven - whose tunes of carefully placed distortion that somehow highlight their pop leanings - are as endearing as earlier artists and relevant as their contemporaries. In other words, they make listeners remember what made shoegaze so important.

As mentioned earlier, the Band in Heaven are releasing their feedback-driven brand of pop during a time when the industry seems flooded by similar acts, but I think there is room for them. According to the demos streaming from their Myspace page, their music remains wonderfully unique while echoing, reverently, their disparate and legendary influences.