Texas native John Peña has been recording under the name Heavenly Beat since 2009. After playing bass in Beach Fossils for the past two years he has begun to perfect his solo craft. Released earlier this year, debut album Talent flashes the glamour perhaps inspired by metropolis living. Club-hopping beats lay the foundation for an ideal chillwave dance party. Touring with Beach Fossils obviously gave Peña plenty of practice time, as catchy bass grooves also become essential building blocks of the album.
Synthetic strings and fogged-glass pads appear before Peña’s soft voice breathes down the neck; “is this enough?” he asks during the chorus. What really stands out in “Messiah” and most Heavenly Beat material are the nylon-string guitar samples. Such an organic sound provides a natural summer breeze element to stand in front of the sea of processed synths and beats. “Messiah” moves around enough to make listeners move around, yet remains subtle enough to be played at any mellow sit-down occasion. This accomplishment is one of Heavenly Beat’s finest. “Messiah” makes me feel like I am on a yacht where a fashion show is taking place or at a party too sexy for me to ever be invited to; I appreciate that.
Captured Tracks, Heavenly Beat’s record label, describes Peña’s first performances as “a handful of unfulfilling and embarrassing live shows.” If one chooses to YouTube search “Heavenly Beat live” the first (and only) Heavenly Beat video displayed is titled “L TV: Heavenly Beat Plays a Very Unofficial CMJ Party” and this hilarious clip includes John Peña alone on stage singing along to backing tracks (sometimes), holding/pretending to play guitar, and dancing with a rolling rock in hand. Remember, the album is called Talent. Is it wrong to find this lack of care just as entertaining as an artist being serious? Also, Heavenly Beat does not sound like something made for live shows but rather something meant to be remixed by DJs and sampled by dubstep artists.