Cult ’90s indie heroes Heavenly return with ‘Highway to Heavenly’, their fifth album and first in 30 years. Fiercely independent, the album is released on the band’s own Skep Wax label and finds them tackling anger, grief, empathy and love in equal measure.

The record opens with ‘Scene Stealing’, a song that tells the story of self-obsessed influencers who don’t respect women – ‘You said you did what any guy might do’ – against an indie-pop soundtrack that Belle & Sebastian would be proud to call their own. ‘Portland Town’ is a celebration of being a misfit and a place where everyone is welcome, albeit with the caveat ‘I just wanna feel I fit in’, while ‘Press Return’ has a more sweet and soulful sound surrounding an admission that ‘we never said the things we should have said’.

‘Skep Wax’ – the name of Rob and Amelia’s label – has a touch of Dylan’s ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ in its opening moments, while the wordplay is delightfully on point for tongue-tied introverts: ‘I’m just me and that’s about it and you’re just you. We’re differently the same’. ‘Deflicted’ follows with a more menacing bassy sound and what could be Hammond Organ swirls, giving the song a baggy vibe: ‘I try to believe in a world where no one cares what we say and do’. The stop-start melodies on ‘Excuse Me’ reminded us of Brakes, as did the self-deprecating words: ‘Excuse me, I thought you were someone else. They’ve been on my mind’.

‘A Different Beat’ is reminiscent of early Los Campesinos! – who, of course, referenced Amelia in ‘The International Tweexcore Underground’ – as it tells a gossip-filled story about someone gaining confidence over sugar-sweet hooks and a bouncy bass line, finishing with the mantra: ‘She moves her feet to a different beat’. ‘Good Times’ has a waltzy opening and more heartbreaking introspection – ‘I was misinformed, misaligned’ – while The Shins-like ‘The Neverseen’ finds Amelia and keyboardist Cathy Rogers having fun with their vocal interplay as they send a sweet message to a loved one: ‘I just hope you’ll be fine until we realign sometime’.

‘She is the One’ can’t fail to warm your heart with its message ‘she’s glad you’ve found a way to see her’, while the final ‘That Last Day’ poignantly captures the unrelenting power of bereavement and grief against potent pop hooks. Amelia recalls how ‘there is never a right time and we said are last goodbyes and we left you all alone’. This is followed by a memory of a memorial service (it’s especially powerful as her brother and Heavenly’s original drummer Mathew Fletcher took his own life in 1996) : ‘I’m still thinking of you now’.

You’ll want to join this most special of bands on their ‘Highway to Heavenly’.

Live dates

25 Feb COVENTRY, Just Dropped In (with CD/LP) 

26 Feb LONDON The Lexington 

28 Feb  ATHENS Temple

5 Mar RAMSGATE Music Hall 

6 Mar PARIS Petit Bain 

8 Mar LONDON The Lexington (matinee, all ages) 

14 Mar OXFORD The Nest   

18 Mar MANCHESTER Yes  

19 Mar GLASGOW Mono

20 Mar SUNDERLAND Pop Recs 

21 Mar SHEFFIELD Sidney & Matilda

26 Mar BRIGHTON Hope & Ruin

4 Apr CARDIFF Wales Goes Pop 

16 Apr WASHINGTON DC Black Cat 

17 Apr PHILADELPHIA Johnny Brenda’s 

18 Apr NEW YORK Bowery Ballroom 

19 Apr BOSTON The Sinclair

21 Apr TORONTO The Great Hall

23 Apr CHICAGO Empty Bottle