Dance! Las Vegas - Heaven Lost An Angel

Hear The Track Here

Dance! Las Vegas are a 6 piece pop rock band from Middlesbrough, England, according to one Jamie Donelly, lead guitarist and - obviously - chief publicist. So, while he had me in an armlock on the floor, he extorted a promise about reviewing some tracks that will form the band's upcoming debut single Heaven Lost An Angel. As a consequence, I am now the proud possessor of not one but three Dance! Las Vegas tracks; Heaven, When In Rome Do What Romans Do, and Tonight. Lucky me huh? See, being a reviewer does have some up sides! Do your bit today!! Anyway... D!LV are a live gigging band and have already played some pretty big gigs so I entered the review process expecting much....

Yep, uh oh about covers it...

That's the problem with reading things long before you get to hear the actual track, it builds up skewed perspectives. Nothing wrong with the music though, although there is a tale to be told about that. Tonight turns out to be the original version of Heaven Lost An Angel and, I believe, the original demo. In a way, because I knew that fact, I listened to this first and that wasn't a good idea. Not that Tonight isn't good, it's terrific and shows what a great song it is. It's a bit - dare I say it - tame sounding, and I guess that's why the band decided to remaster it. There again, if I had come across it in a normal review, I certainly wouldn't have panned it; despite a slightly desperate sounding vocal and some timing slips. A good song is a good song, know what I mean?

So, with this feeling of disappointment lurking, firing up Heaven Lost An Angel shows what a bit of thought can achieve. The razor sharp production of Mike Frankland of Castlegate Studios helps enormously though. The major point about Heaven Lost An Angel is that it's a BIG ballad, and there was no way the treatment Tonight gave it was going to do the trick. This version does though, and in spades. A lush, warm, drenched in emotion gut wrencher of the first order and no mistake. Now, look at it this way, the average age of this band is 17, when you are aware of that fact the track takes on a whole new light. Awesome. Finally, we have When In Rome Do What Romans Do where again 15 year old Holly Shahverdi shows that she can rock out as well as deliver a big ballad. The musical sophistication in this track bodes extremely well for the future of this dynamic band. My choice? Grab listens to both Heaven and When In Rome and see what the youth of England are really up to... When In Rome rocks the house down and is a MAJOR must have.

MUST HAVE English pop rock.