Gary Heffern & Beautiful People

Gary Heffern was the singer of famed late ‘70‘s / early ‘80‘s San Diego punk / new wave band The Penetrators. A few years back he learned the truth of his childhood (read the revelatory one-sheet) and, as a result, moved to Finland, where he was born. He met local collective Beautiful People and this album is the result. It’s full of sounds that Heffern played with The Penetrators - punkish, country, r’n’r, lots of influences. Many of the lyrics are heavy and autobiographical. Very well crafted songs, all worth a listen. No FCC’s.

*My Favorites*: 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12.

1. *(8:57) Slow / Mid. Very quiet start, heavy lyrics, backing vocals, organ, acoustic guitar, mandolin, drums, electric guitar. Instruments enter one at a time. Long fade out. Wow! Epic and absolutely beautiful.
2. (4:17) Mid. Echoey vocal with ominous organ, loud, rockin’ plodding beat. Guitar solo. Song about religion.
3. *(4:22) Mid. Plodding, easy-going beat. Female lead vocal, song about a dream of Bone. Dreamy and folky.
4. *(2:15) Mid. Upbeat, lo-fi with a slight doo-wop thing going on. Quite childish, sitcom theme jingle-jangle. Guitar, drums, horns, bell, processed vocal. Great.
5. *(3:08) Mid. Punky, with almost a Johnny Rotten vocal delivery, crunchy guitar, heavy drum hits, backing vocals. Killer.
6. (5:10) Slow / Mid. Mellow number with guitars, drums, harmonica.
7. (5:06) Mid. Female vocal, heavy, heavy lyrics, with strings and a plodding beat.
8. *(2:53) Mid. Upbeat country rockabilly song with guitar, drums, harmonica, violin.
9. *(3:44) Mid. Upbeat, Uncle Tupelo / Old ’97’s stylings. Very cool.
10. (4:09) Mid. Strummed acoustic guitar to start, both male and female vocals. Band joins in.
11. *(3:30) Mid. Heffern speaks while female sings over a mellow, jazzy jaunt, then turns a bit carnivalistic for a few measures. Big horn and strings. Very cool with some funny lyrics by Heffern.
12. *(2:38) Fast / Slow. All-out rocker with dog barks. Big sound, punky with guitar solos, pounding beat. Turns slow with violin, trumpet. Ends fast.