Approximately halfway through “The Only Way To Get To Heaven,” a.k.a. the leadoff track to Shamewave‘s new three-song Heaven EP, the fact that Shamewave’s Cody Ratley spent the past decade recording and playing in various Midwest metal bands becomes abundantly clear. It’s the point in the song when the previous wash of synth-y shoegaze gives way to a wicked guitar lick and some big drums. It’s like My Bloody Valentine suddenly getting drowned out by Armored Saint.
Heaven is the followup to Ratley’s first record under his Shamewave moniker, 2020’s Grinner. Like that six-song introduction, Heaven is an effortless mix of not-too-dissimilar genres—shoegaze and metal on “The Only Way To Get To Heaven,” ambient and drone on closer “Gently.” In between is a woozy and winning cover of Cheap Trick’s “Heaven Tonight,” which manages to solidify both the EP’s sound and its celestial theme in one fell swoop.
Heaven was performed, engineered, and mixed by Ratley, and mastered by Justin Perkins at Mystery Room Mastering. Order a cassette of the EP HERE, and check out a video for “The Only Way To Get To Heaven” below.