HEAVENLY BODIES: Gender Neutral Body Inspectors
Photo: Kathryn Lipman
Let me give it to you straight: In the present day, three youngsters hunched over amps making feedback gives me agita. I guess it all traces back to too much time spent during the 90s in drafty attics watching plumber’s butts jutting out of a pair of Dickies. These said pants were usually owned by a spectacled dude who felt the combination of the guitar resting on the floor and a knob twisted just right was audio Narnia. In hindsight, the act was - in the words of the godfather of woke rock journalism Tesco Vee - an orgy of one.
So, after reading all that, you would think the kinda pixie dust Philly trio Heavenly Bodies kick up would put them on my kill list or something. But instead, their recently released two-track cassette made me kinda nostalgic for the stuff outta that era I’m still quite fond of (i.e - The ones I never had to sit through in a live setting) Side one’s “Lesser Gods” pushes out with a lot of billowing feedback and cymbal interplay before grinding into a crude-’n’-tranqued-out Krautrock jam while its follower “Digitigrade” shimmers and swirls like an early Flying Saucer Attack single. It’s yet another feather in the cap of brotherly love; right up there with such plumage as Informed Sources and Blue.
I was so intrigued by Heavenly Bodies that I slid into their DM’s and asked, “Baby jurl, what is of your story?” And for some reason, they responded.
Please give the basic info on how, when and why the band started.
First of all Heavenly Bodies is Ashley and Dustin Burrows and Shaun Bailey. We started the band in October of 2018 when Shaun moved back to the northeast. That was the catalyst. Ashley was interested in playing guitar but we thought we needed a bass player and I was getting very tired of not contributing to the music scene that we’ve been a part of for the past several years so we started playing together out of necessity basically. We wanted to play loud simple repetitive music and thought we had a unique take on improvising it because we’ve known each other for so long and knew exactly what we didn’t want to do. We wanted to rid ourselves of things like writing songs and lyrics and all the bullshit that normally comes with starting a band. No leader. No frontman. No genre. No rules. That's a direct result of the numerous failed projects we’d been involved with prior that should and shall remain nameless.
Set the scene from what a typical Heavenly Bodies 'practice' session is like.
Our sessions are pretty loose. Ashley and I are siblings and Shaun has been our best friend for over 25 years so with that kind of dynamic you’re usually going to have the best time. We grab beers from the store downstairs and go into our space, talk about current events in our lives, music, and weird shit and then just start playing. Sometimes we have an idea we talk about beforehand but most of the time we just let it rip.
Do you just leave a recording device going the whole time and edit it down later?
We did that when we first started playing together but that was mainly for critiquing purposes; just to see what we could improve on and for reference like if we liked a groove not that we ever really replicated anything.
What was the reasoning behind picking the two pieces that appear on the cassette?
Technically we didn’t pick them. We recorded the second side first with just guitars because Shaun had sprained his ankle the week before we wanted to actually sit down and record. We also wanted to make something kind of quiet and pensive so this worked out in a way. Then a couple of weeks later we recorded the track that appears on the first side. What you hear is basically the first time we extend the idea beyond the three-minute mark.
What’s the response been to Heavenly Bodies in the Philly music scene?
The response has been incredible. We’ve never played in a music scene as diverse and welcoming as the one in North Philadelphia. We have played seven shows since June of last year. As far as highlights go, our first show was phenomenal because we were surrounded by all our friends and playing with great bands for a residency our buddy Richie Charles put on at Ortliebs. I’ll also give an honorable mention to our fourth show because of some technical issues and psychedelics. Both of those performances were caught on video by the great Joe Burns.
Please give us a full Philly scene report through the eyes of Heavenly Bodies.
So many great bands and musicians are making noise right now. I mean from straight-up rock ‘n’ roll to the absolutely absurd. Bill Nace is putting on some wonderful shows and playing with Neil Burke and Emily Robb. Anything that Richie is involved with whether it be a release, band or event is always gonna give you a quick and sudden head change. The Philadelphia Record Exchange is what we believe to be the epicenter of the Philly music scene. They are the true tastemakers and curate some of the best selections of records out right now. Also Chris Forsyth and what he’s done with Jerry’s On Front is amazing. We saw Birds of Maya and DMBQ there last year and fuck! it was awesome to say just a little more. There have been so many one-off performances and collaborations recently but if you see names like Writhing Squares, Purling Hiss, Ecstatic Vision, Birds of Maya, Rosali Middleman, the elusive Astute Palate, fucking Long Hots just run to where they’re playing you won’t be disappointed. I know there are a lot of bands with recordings that aren’t out yet that I’m super psyched about.
Are there any future plans for Heavenly Bodies you'd be willing to divulge?
We’re definitely planning on releasing a full length sometime in the next six months depending on our schedules and how fast we can put the whole thing together but I could just be blowing smoke.
If you were at a boring family gathering and a relative asked you to describe the sound of Heavenly Bodies, what would you tell them?
Honestly, we would change the subject but I’d probably say sometimes it’s really loud and sometimes it’s really quiet and that they probably wouldn’t like it
Were there any second choices for names besides Heavenly Bodies?
Yes. Heavenly Bodies Too and Beyoncé 2
Is the earth flat?
No, the earth is roughly a sphere (that’s from the internet)
Experience Heavenly Bodies’ Tape I here.