A Storm In Heaven

Like the band’s prior EPs and singles, most of the songs on this album are bathed in heavy layers of delay (echo) and reverb, used on both the guitars and the vocals, in order to give a dis-orienteering psychedelic overall effect.

Nick McCabe admitted he found work with John Leckie difficult and was ultimately dissatisfied with the album’s sound: ‘’I just found it really difficult. I had something in my mind, he had something in his, and I generally ended up doing it somewhere in the middle. It got to the point to where he would come out and start fiddling with my amp. I’d wait for him to turn his back and then I’d put it back.’’ (http://www.excellentonline.com/story/nick-mccabe-interview-733 1999 interview)

“Star Sail” appeared on the soundtrack album for the 1993 movie Sliver.

“The Sun, The Sea” and “Butterfly” feature experimental saxophone and trumpet playing and reversed guitar loops. The lyrics of “Butterfly” [e.g., “You could flap your wings a thousand miles away/ You could take the storm away, forever every day”] pertain directly to the so-called Butterfly effect. (The song “Catching The Butterfly,” from the band’s 1997 album Urban Hymns, is apparently a continuation of this theme.)

The album’s closing song is built on a subdued piano motif played by guitarist Nick McCabe.

Like all of the band’s releases, A Storm in Heaven features enigmatic artwork. The album’s cover photo was shot inside Thor’s Cave in Staffordshire, England.