Heatmiser - Biography
In the early 90s two college buddies, both singer/songwriters, struck up a musical collaboration. Neil Gust and Elliot Smith met at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, playing covers and original songs in nearby clubs. After graduating they took their respective talents to Portland and put a band together in the heart of the 90s grunge scene. They released a handful of singles, EPs and three full-length albums before disbanding in 1996, each member continuing on to pursue — rather successfully — their separate projects. Gust formed his own band, No 2, bassist Sam Coomes (who replaced Brandt Peterson for the final album) teamed up to form the indie band Quasi with his wife at the time, Janet Weiss of Sleater Kinney, and drummer Tony Lash went on to become a thriving producer (The Dandy Warhols and Death Cab for Cutie). If you’re a Heatmiser fan, chances are you were an Elliott Smith fan first, having come across the band looking for his early work. What you may have found, however, is that the band wasn’t just a precursor to the near-legendary solo artist’s career, but was a genuinely compelling collaboration between two fiercely gifted songwriters (and a group of stellar musicians) who used their unique abilities to create a vivid cross-pollination of grunge, hard rock, folk and pop.
The debut album, Dead Air (1993 Frontier), is a high-energy rock record, awash in crunchy guitar hooks, bass athletics (courtesy of Brandt Peterson) and an unselfconscious grunge aesthetic. It’s surprising to hear Smith’s signature hushed tones in a noisier context, but it’s also an added point of interest to get the sensibilities of two unique vocalists on one album. Gust is clearly more of a rocker, with his slightly tormented vocal on songs like the head-banging “Dirt” and the tense, agitated “Stray,” and Smith’s folkiness comes through, even on heavier tracks like “Blackout.” The next release was an EP, Yellow Number 5 (1994 Frontier). It’s a collection of crisp, infectious pop songs that led into the follow-up LP, Cop and Speeder (1994 Frontier), a quirkier and more experimental album. It’s not exactly out there, as it maintains a pop sensibility, but there’s a looser structure and a more sprawling expression in these songs, leaving room for both songwriters’ angsty narratives. “Flame” is a highlight with its gorgeous harmonies, and the slower grooves in tracks like “Something to Lose,” accentuate Gust’s understated broodiness and “Antonio Carlos Jobim” is a moment of unadulterated Elliott Smith prettiness.
Having two singer/songwriters in the band gave Heatmiser an extra layer of intrigue, and though the divergent styles of Smith and Gust mingled uneasily at times, it was always interesting and sometimes sublime, particularly on their swan song, the truly wonderful Mic City Sons (1996 Astralwerks), produced by the band’s own Tony Lash. It’s undeniable that Smith’s presence is more pronounced on this record with his whispery, exposed approach on songs like “Plainclothes Man” and “You Gotta Move,” and it’s apparent that his solo work is feeding more into the band’s music. But Gust also shines on tracks like “Low Flying Jets,” with its cool pop sensibility and the understated, acoustic grunge of “Blue Highway.” The contrast between the two songwriters (although each song is credited to both Smith and Gust) is starker than ever here, but this collection of songs is ironically the band’s most accomplished and cohesive — a fully actualized gem of an album.
Elliott Smith’s solo career eventually eclipsed the work of Heatmiser and (whether the events were related or not) the band broke up after the release of the Mic City Sons. Despite reports of inter-band tensions and the fact that Smith openly distanced himself from their raucous and at times abrasive sound, all of the members continued to lend their talents to one another’s creative endeavors. It goes without saying that Smith’s tragic death in 2003 cut short a brilliant life’s work and represented a genuine loss to popular music, so it’s worth seeking out Heatmiser’s records just to discover more of his songs. But the band are worth checking out in their own stead as well — they were individually and collectively inspired artists who deserve to hold a stake in some of the best music of the 90s.