Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Artist Spotlight: The Helio Sequence

When one of my friends first introduced me to The Helio Sequence, I thought to myself "is this some screamo, heavy metal band?" I honestly feel that their name is quite misleading, but I am so glad I gave them a shot as they are a new obsession! Hailing from Portland, Oregon, The Helio Sequence have recently released the stellar album Keep Your Eyes Ahead, a follow-up to their 2004 Sub Pop debut, Love and Distance. The Helio Sequence consists of best friends Brandon Summers on guitars/vocals and Benjamin Weikel [who also played with Modest Mouse] on keyboard/drums.

Following the release of their debut, and six months of grueling tour schedules with the likes of Blonde Redhead, Modest Mouse, Kings of Leon and The Secret Machines, Brandon severely damaged his vocal chords. Through vocal exercises Brandon triumped and relearned to sing, an evolved electronica tinged indie-rock sound that is heard throughout Keep Your Eyes Ahead.

The Helio Sequence Tour Dates
4/7 Södra Teatern Stockholm Sweden
4/8 Rockefeller Oslo Norway
4/9 Vega Copenhagen Denmark
4/11 Motel Mozaique Rotterdam Netherlands
4/12 Arts Centre Norwich United Kingdom *
4/14 Thekla Social Bristol United Kingdom *
4/15 Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth United Kingdom *
4/16 St. George's (Brighton) Brighton United Kingdom *
4/17 City Varieties Leeds United Kingdom *
4/18 Sage Gateshead Gateshead United Kingdom *
4/19 Union Chapel London United Kingdom **
4/25 Lewis and Clark College Portland OR
5/15 Empty Bottle Chicago IL
5/17 Philadelphia Book Festival Philadelphia PA
5/18 Maxwells Hoboken NJ **
5/21 Johnny Brenda's Philadelphia PA
7/19 Siren Festival Main Stage Brooklyn NY **

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Helio Sequence rocks! I love the song Keep Your Eyes Ahead good stuff.