"Heavenward" is a song by English

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band Wolf Alice from their second studio album, ''

Visions of a Life ''Visions of a Life'' is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Wolf Alice, released on 29 September 2017 through Dirty Hit. The album received acclaim from music critics and appeared on several year-end lists, as well as winning ...

''. It was released on 18 September 2017 through Dirty Hit as the album's fourth single.

Writing and recording

In a track by track breakdown for '' Consequence of Sound'', drummer Joel Amey said:

"I feel like "Heavenward" was one of the first ideas we really got to grips with; we have a few demo versions floating around, one of which was made in our manager's office basement and from which the opening build up noise is lifted. That passage always set such a mood and tone and for me that I couldn't have imagined it as anything other than the opener. The guitars are so dense and there are so many nuances that we had to think carefully about how the sonics of the other instruments should sit; we wanted to avoid classic 'radio rock' drums and keep them almost small in size to really push the walls of guitar noise. It's a favourite of mine, especially lyrically, but also for Joff's guitar anti-solo that comes in the middle 8th. I won't reveal how he gets the sound, but so far some people we've shown it to have said it's a saxophone or a set of distorted bagpipes which should give you an indication of the way Joff approaches the guitar!"

Release and live performances

"Heavenward" premiered on

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

Beats 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...

radio show, and subsequently released for digital download and streaming. According to a press release, the song is about the death of a friend. Wolf Alice performed the song in October 2017 as part of their set at their performance on

KCRW KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programm ...

's '' Morning Becomes Eclectic'' program. They also performed the song on WKQX's The Sound Lounge session in April 2018.

Composition

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' described the song as "mournful

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

." '' Varsity'' said the song "sounds like a continuation of their debut, with dreamy melodies emerging out of a shoegaze wall of fuzzy feedback and dissonant guitars. But from that point onwards, you're on a musical mystery tour of the wacky and unexpected."

Music video

The music video for "Heavenward" was uploaded to the band's

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

channel on 26 September 2017. The video was directed by Andy DeLuca, and follows the band on tour.

References

{{authority control 2017 singles 2017 songs Dirty Hit singles Wolf Alice songs Songs written by Ellie Rowsell