ALBUM OF THE DAY:
Mister Heavenly
Out of Love

Mister Heavenly album cover

Mister Heavenly
Out of Love
(Sub Pop, 2011)

As progressively poppy as Man Man’s gotten with every passing record, their wild-eyed frontman–a Rhodes-smacking, stage-prowling Ryan Kattner–has never embraced his Top 40 tendencies as freely as he does on Mister Heavenly’s debut album. Well, maybe not today’s Top 40; more like the long-lost decades suggested by the trio’s “doom-wop” sound, as co-piloted by Joe Plummer’s raggedy drum rolls and the slightly less manic melodies of Nick Thornburn (see: the lengthy interview below). This is soda shop pop spiked with vials of strychnine, right down to its surreal references to reggae pie and doe-like Diddy eyes.