Heliconia - Glad You Were Born

Genre: Indie Rock, Shoegaze
Release Date: Summer 2006
Sounds Like: The Verve, My Bloody Valentine, Catherine Wheel
Overall Rating: 7.2/10

Summary: This is the debut full length for England's Heliconia. Glad You Were Born is just a great album. Why flower it with poetic words like... lush walls of distorted guitars over a water fall of rainbow prisms. Why declare that the album shimmers like a billion diamonds strewn across the sunlit sand. Why? It's really simple because this album does all of that, and if you listen, and if you like even a bit of classic shoegaze then you will understand. This is what I have been waiting to hear, a band who embraces the early 90's shoegaze movement and one ups it to a new level. I must give one bit of criticism though, it sounds too much like early Catherine Wheel. Wait, that's a good thing! My mp3 player will wear out its batteries on this album. Buy it, download it, steal it! Just get it! Visit their myspace site for more info and of course tunes.

Ratings Summary:
Originality within Genre: 7.7
Originality by Band: 7.0
Production: 8.0
Did I like it?: 8.5

Track Ratings:
1) 8.1
2) 7.2
3) 6.1
4) 7.8
5) 6.9
6) 5.8
7) 6.9
8) 7.2
9) 6.6
10) 5.2

11) 7.7