THE HEAVENLY STATES – “FIFTH OF JULY”
A SPILL EXCLUSIVE VIDEO PREMIERE
A Bay Area fixture and cult favorite since the early 2000s, The Heavenly States formed in Oakland in 2002. In 2010, the band relocated to Austin, TX, with members now split between Austin and Atlanta. Today, the beloved alt-rock outfit returns with a timely new single, “Fifth of July,” out July 25 via LBM Recordings.
Led by core songwriters Genevieve Gagon (keys, violin, vocals) and Ted Nesseth (guitar, vocals), the group is joined by a powerhouse roster of Austin talent: John Olrech and Erik Grostic on bass, and Danny Piccuirro and Jason Toll on drums. Genevieve and Ted first crossed paths with Erik years ago at a shared bill during Austin’s late punk and indie heyday, reconnecting during the COVID lockdown. From there, the band began piecing together new material in a DIY home studio — building gear from scratch, tracking parts across different rooms and neighborhoods, and leaning into creativity through limitation.
The resulting sound is deeply rooted in transition — a document of musicians who’ve witnessed Austin’s cultural transformation firsthand, before, during, and after its evolution.
The Heavenly States have maintained their sharp songwriting and distinctive sonic identity across three acclaimed albums and two decades.
With their new single “Fifth of July,” the band delivers a razor-sharp, new wave-tinged anthem that they call a “day-after danse macabre.” Lyrically poignant and bitingly observational, the genre-blurring, boundary pushers offer their own perspective of the oft-controversial American holiday, with lines like: “All the plastic forks on the fourth of July become the plastic forks on the fifth of July.”
“We watch a lot, we learn a lot, about the missing daughters.”
The band explains, “It is late in the game, and it can’t be fixed so it will be described. On a celebrated day of freedom, insouciant, flaccid desire has scoured the landscape and defecated carpets of plastic across our lawns. Over feasts, they speak of wins, conquests, trips, excellences. For fun tonight they will watch slaughter on TV. We’re setting the picnic table, setting the stage, a red flag for what we call “freedom.”
The Heavenly States
[Single]
(LBM Recordings)
Release Date: July 25, 2025
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