Send "Mister Heavenly " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Sputnikmusic |
 Supergroups more often than not leave me feeling like the disconsolate patsy on the cover of this album, the lifeless hope of what could have been lying facedown in the dirt while I weep tears of disappointment because of it. This is a bit dramatic, but isn’t that what supergroups promise? Drama, bigger, better things, the logical conclusion that follows from the infallible mathematical equation that if you add great things together you get something greater. Of course, it rarely works out that way, so generally you won’t see me actually crying into my arm when Kanye and Jay-Z’s last album isn’t the best thing since, uh, Kanye’s last album. It doesn’t help when musicians tag their new projects with utterly meaningless descriptions like “doom-wop” that guarantee I will look at it and cringe. The problem with Nick Thorburn née Diamonds of the Unicorns and more recently Islands is that the man just doesn’t care. Off-kilter indie, Neil Young-flavored folk, goofy hip-hop – Thorburn has slept with them all, and the results have not always been pretty. Thorburn’s dipped his stick into so many cans that his own identity and talents have become tawdry tricks, unfocused and haphazard.It’s no surprise then to realize that Mister Heavenly succeeds because it adds that crucial element that Thorburn has previously lacked: an equal creative force to bounce off of. Ryan Kattner, the ivory-pounding face of experimental rock outfit Man Man, is probably one of the few musicians in indie who could stand up to Thorburn’s particular shade of weird, and he’s not just some piano in the background. Kattner is what gives Out Of Love its flair, a distinct character that could very well make Mister Heavenly more of a regular concern. His rugged howl is the perfect counterpoint to Thorburn’s nasally whine, the kind of oil and vinegar pairing that gives much of Out Of Love its bite. Musically the two are right in sync; Kattner’s piano playing is much more reserved than his work in Man Man, with an emphasis on pounded chords and a two-step, barroom beat, while Thorburn’s warm guitar tones take inspiration from classic surf melodies and Kattner’s own vocal inflections....full text |
| Popmatters |
| A dark take on doo-wop by an indie-supergroup is a terrible premise for an album—and referring to it as “doom wop” does little to make the case that Mister Heavenly is more than a contrivance crafted by already famous musicians, whose celebrity all-but guarantees it’s commercial success. Still it prevails. Perhaps it’s that they avoided the obvious pitfalls of recreating 1950s R&B: sappy love songs, predictable ice-cream chord changes and hokey, onomatopoeia-laced backup vocals. Alright, upon further review, the latter is there, but “ooh-waaahs,” “doh-dohs” and “whoop-oh-oh-ohs” can, in fact, be charming when done with taste. Mister Heavenly consists of guitarist Nick Thorburn of the Unicorns, Man Man’s piano-puncher Ryan “Honus Honus” Kattner and Joe Plummer, who has long kept the pace for Modest Mouse. The trio crafted Out of Love under three commandments: keep it short, keep it simple and keep it rooted in classic doo-wop. Classic doo-wop, bands like the Coasters and the Penguins, were focused around the creative use mankind’s most evocative and sympathetic instrument: the human voice. Consequently, the success of this recording is hinged on the interplay between the voices of Kattner and Thorburn. They are, no doubt, an odd couple. Kattner shouts from his belly and Thorburn articulates in a nasally drone. They are, nonetheless, compatible in a way that is sometimes in harmony and sometimes at odds. Typically they trade lead vocal duties several times per song and reserve harmonizing for moments when it really counts....full text |
| Avclub |
| Given the obvious wealth of compatibility between Mister Heavenly’s main players—Man Man’s Ryan Kattner, Islands’ Nick Thorburn, and Modest Mouse’s Joe Plummer—it’s none too surprising that the band’s first full-length release, Out Of Love, opens with the sound of a Man Man/Islands hybrid moving to Plummer’s pneumatic beats. Lest anyone criticize the feral stomp of “Bronx Sniper” as the sound of Mister Heavenly resting on its death-obsessed laurels, the album quickly transitions into the most curious entry into the ongoing retro-R&B sweepstakes, an experiment in doomed romance and skeletal pop forms outfitted with modern textures and invented slang. (Though it could easily be passed off as a doo-wop vocable, the titular refrain of “Diddy Eyes” is apparently a reference to the distinctive ocular features of Sean “P. Diddy” Combs.) It says something about the collective “end is nigh” mindset of 2011 that Out Of Love is the year’s second prominent indie-leaning release to lace love and throwback pop with paranoia (the first is Cults’ self-titled debut), but unfortunately, Out Of Love features nothing of demented earworm-quality on the level of “Go Outside.” The tropical predator tale “Pineapple Girl” and off-kilter lover’s plea “Charlyne” come close, but otherwise, Out Of Love is an only slightly rewarding diversion from Kattner, Thorburn, and Plummer’s day jobs. ...full text |
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