Review Summary: Heaven Is a Place but it sure ain't here.
LSD and the Search For God released their self-titled EP in 2007 and was met with critical acclaim. It featured dreamy male and female vocals and dynamic instrumentation as it balances melody and noise effectively. After the release of their first EP, they disappeared until 9 years later when they released
Heaven Is a Place. Their new EP had huge expectations that it had to live up to that it did not exactly meet.
The most apparent issue is that the production needs a lot of improvement. The songs are completely over powered by the distortion and reverb that any melody that was originally there is entirely buried in the mix. This criticism is most egregious in “Heaven”. The song just ends up being being 3 minutes of straight noise that is not pleasant to listen to. Things do get slightly better with “(I Don’t Think We Should) Take It Slow” as the vocals do take the front seat over the noise while showing some solid vocal melodies from Andy Liszt (unlike in “Heaven”) but it still lacks the soothing vocal dynamic between the two vocalists which is partly what made their self-titled such a success. Furthermore, the song feels like the band is on autopilot and therefore, it is ultimately forgettable. “Elizabeth” starts out promising with atmospheric guitar melodies and good male vocals but then also falls into the same trap that “Heaven” fell into. The noise submerges Sophia Campbells wonderful vocal lines that would otherwise perfectly compliment Andy Liszt’s vocals. You can just about hear it in the mix but it should be louder. Despite this, “Elizabeth” is still a decent listen, it just needs a lot of fine tuning as it loses it's greatness through it’s messy production.
“Outer Space (Long Way Home)” is what
Heaven Is a Place needed more of. It features an extremely catchy chorus that fully utilises both of their vocalists, powerful drum fills and dream-like guitars. The noise, while still there, is kept to a minimum throughout most of the song and becomes louder when it is actually needed to at the end. This all culminates into a great song that lives up to the bands name. The EP closes with “Without You”. The song starts with an atmospheric and dreamy intro that then efficiently builds up in volume. But then all this build up dissipates into a verse that is nothing more than OK. Thankfully, the song then picks up again during the chorus that holds great vocals and guitar work. After the second chorus, the song then transitions into effectively used noise as it balances the melody from the guitar with the ethereal soundscape. Even with it's flaws, "Without You" is a solid way to end the EP.
Overall,
Heaven Is a Place is a roller-coaster in terms of quality. Some songs are ruined by the overbearing noise within the mix and some lack the excellent vocal dynamic found in their self-titled. However, the EP does contain songs that do not disappoint that does appropriately use the noisy soundscape while showcasing some catchy and soothing music. It does not live up to the expectations of their self-titled EP but still demonstrates that they can make good songs with “Outer Space (Long Way Home)” and “Without You”.
