Heartbeat Hotel

"[Heartbeat Hotel's] mind-melting psychedelia points to the future of Toronto's underground music scene." - Blog.TO

"[Heartbeat Hotel's] mind-melting psychedelia points to the future of Toronto's underground music scene." - Blog.TO

I first listened to Heartbeat Hotel's full-length album Fetus Dreams and CoughDrops EP while waiting to depart from the Las Vegas airport, gazing out at the big windows at the desert landscape, past the mountains and the blinking lights.

Like Frank Yang (Chromewaves) theorized in his introduction to Heartbeat Hotel, I also thought the band's 2010 LP Fetus Dreams was the best free downloadable record to come out last year. Heartbeat Hotel mixes organic and electronic instrumentation along with shoegaze vocals, creating the kind of soundtrack you want to listen to when you are in a daydreaming mood.

I recently had a chance to chat with Heartbeat Hotel, and here's what they had to say about the album..... - BlogTO.com

"My fellow concertgoers running in out of the rain two-thirds of the way through this local shoegaze quartet’s set were met with a packed Silver Dollar Room charged with the distinct air of buzz. Seems Heartbeat Hotel’s decision to give away the lion’s share of their recent recordings free of charge has set word of mouth in motion, summoning an assembly of astute listeners who came to see Toronto’s next reverb-washed indie idols while they’re still playing tiny holes in the wall. What they got was the chiming guitar lines and breezy vocal hooks of “Seeing Spots” and “The Hello Barrel”—just the kind of near-ambient shoegaze anthems that will soon propel them to bigger stages. Though leaving out your best song to date (the gorgeous, shuffling hipster slow dance “Windowsill 1”) is often a misstep for a band so young, the great success of Heartbeat Hotel’s set proves their catalogue is already rich enough to handle such a heavy omission. Definitely a band to watch if you’re interested in staying ahead of the curve." - EYE WEEKLY

"Purveyors of carefully calibrated soundscapes that dress strong pop melodies in waves of psychedelic reverb and effects..." - exclaim.ca

"Purveyors of carefully calibrated soundscapes that dress strong pop melodies in waves of psychedelic reverb and effects..." - exclaim.ca

"[Fetus Dreams] has lots of interesting moments, and none of the tangents fail, but it's hard to get a sense of who these guys actually are." - NOW Magazine

"[Fetus Dreams] has lots of interesting moments, and none of the tangents fail, but it's hard to get a sense of who these guys actually are." - NOW Magazine

"Multilayered arrangements that infuse elements of the avant-garde, psych-pop, and electronica, resulting in an eclectic collage that's both euphoric and beautiful. This is an atmospheric, experimental sound that lures the listener in with woozy melodies and strangely beguiling textures." - Lonely Vagabond

"Fetus Dreams…is the best free complete album you can and should download today. They're on to something and that something is good." - chromewaves.net

"[Heartbeat Hotel] boasts gorgeous vocal harmonies with an indie folk foundation that should make the Seattle blog-darlings envious" - snobsmusic.net