Heavenly

Balancing twanging guitars, bouncy tempos, and punk-honest lyrics with vocals that are sweeter than a gallon of lemonade, Heavenly were formed from the ashes of C-86 giants <a href="spotify:artist:3twRxnjZrSKByPGQErO6V8">Talulah Gosh</a>. Over the course of their short career, they staked a claim for being just as important to indie pop history with a discography that ranks with the best of anyone to give the genre a whirl. Beginning with a run of singles on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sarah%22">Sarah</a> label around the turn of the '90s, the group's girl-group harmonies and surprisingly tricky melodies were an instant hit. They never lost that initial sound while adding riot grrrl toughness on the Atta Girl EP, expanding their arrangements on 1994's album The Decline and Fall of Heavenly, and edging closer to noisy indie rock territory on their swan song, 1996's Operation Heavenly.

The four founding members of the band -- vocalist Amelia Fletcher, her drumming brother Matthew Fletcher, guitarist Peter Momtchiloff, and bassist Rob Pursey -- were also among the founding members of <a href="spotify:artist:3twRxnjZrSKByPGQErO6V8">Talulah Gosh</a> back in 1985. Their new project followed in a direction similar to their previous work, retaining their trademark sweetness-and-light pop flavor but with a tighter, more mature sense of craftsmanship. Formed in Oxford, England during the summer of 1989, Heavenly debuted early the following year with their <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sarah%22">Sarah</a> label single "I Fell in Love Last Night." A second 7", "Our Love Is Heavenly," preceded the release of the mini-album Heavenly vs. Satan in early 1991. Keyboardist and backing vocalist Cathy Rogers was recruited for the full-length follow-up Le Jardin de Heavenly, and the interlocking vocal style she and Fletcher developed became one of the group's trademark features. The album was the first of the band's output to receive an overseas release thanks to a licensing deal with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22K+Records%22">K Records</a>, and it helped further establish Heavenly as <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sarah%22">Sarah</a>'s flagship act. They followed the record with a 1993 EP titled Atta Girl (or P.U.N.K. Girl in the U.S.) that featured riot grrrl-influenced lyrics and shoegaze-heavy guitars. In 1994, they issued their second LP, The Decline and Fall of Heavenly, on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sarah%22">Sarah</a> and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22K%22">K</a>. The album expanded their sound to include a horn section, loungey organs, and cowbell to go along with a batch of their bounciest songs to date.

After a 1995 split single with <a href="spotify:artist:2CLWZP9ZwueC8Yx9ORbxlW">bis</a> that produced the punk-influenced "Trophy Girlfriend," the group moved to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Wiija+Records%22">Wiija Records</a> to release their third album. 1996's Operation Heavenly sports a heavier sound that's closer to indie rock than earlier efforts, while still retaining their intrinsic sweetness. Tragically, just before the record's release Matthew Fletcher died by suicide. The band retired the name Heavenly and after a time returned as <a href="spotify:artist:1DMRFosPAXzvMQ5UKfSPl2">Marine Research</a> for one record, 1999's Sounds from the Gulf Stream.

After they split, Rogers turned to a career on television, while Fletcher and Pursey formed <a href="spotify:artist:1z4szUAHFHDUIqRY1A2AF4">Tender Trap</a> and Momtchiloff joined <a href="spotify:artist:6jXqh4cxbD6QiDlHPwqcHO">the Would-Be-Goods</a>. The trio continued their musical careers alongside real-world pursuits -- like Fletcher's career as a respected economist and Momtchiloff's work as an editor at the Oxford University Press. Fletcher and Pursey started <a href="spotify:artist:5vcEaZYgrEzSNAXySogywH">the Catenary Wires</a>, Fletcher joined former <a href="spotify:artist:29Efj5dBxorBTN9VoEhCaK">Pooh Stick</a> Hue Williams in Swansea Sound, and Momtchiloff played with <a href="spotify:artist:4LPTEHr8B4aZSVVwZStEuf">Scarlet's Well</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1hbQgUsbs9aO9SPpDZzAtb">Les Clochards</a>, and his own group Tufthunter. Heavenly's music received a long-overdue retrospective release with 2020's collection of singles A Bout de Heavenly, which was released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Damaged+Goods%22">Damaged Goods</a>. ~ Tim Sendra & Jason Ankeny, Rovi