Heaven for Real: The Canadian Twin Brothers Making Indie Feel Strange Again
Nice To Meet You!
Heaven For Real on Twin Synergy, Trusting the Process, and Their Upcoming Dream
Welcome to Nice To Meet You, our new interview series focusing on artists who are pushing things forward. First up: Heaven For Real. Hailing originally from the often-overlooked Halifax scene before planting roots in Toronto, the band operates in that fascinating space where cerebral art-rock collides head-on with buoyant indie sensibilities. Led by the twin synergy of Mark and J. Scott Grundy, the project is a testament to what happens when songwriters refuse to pick a lane, instead weaving a tapestry out of disparate threads: the coiled tension of post-punk, the expansive wanderlust of psych-rock, and a surprising undercurrent of jazz-tinged complexity. Their sound is less a fixed genre and more an ongoing experiment, charting their evolution across three distinct phases. Their 2016 debut, Kill Your Memory, was a nervy, angular introduction to their Halifax-forged sound, favoring dizzying post-punk over narrative flow. The 2022 follow-up, Energy Bar, softened the edges, offering a layered, open-hearted collection that found joy and wisdom in the chaotic everyday, which was then succeeded by the 2024 mini-LP Hell’s Logo’s Pink on Mint Records. Now, with the upcoming, potentially conceptual, Who Died & Made You the Dream?, hinted at by the swirling avant-pop of singles like "Hold Me Back," the band continues their streak of being simultaneously hook-aware and utterly unconcerned with being easily categorized.
What was the process that led you to writing your first song?
Scott and I started out writing songs mostly in a band context and making material by jamming on the fly. In our late teens we were part of an adhoc label collective with our friends in Halifax where we took turns releasing a single every week for a year. I think that pushed us to step into our individual songwriting styles (aka Quaker Parents & JJ Purple).
Do you remember the first time you shared your music online — and what that moment meant to you?
Our early band played a show in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and this guy Nathan Nearing recorded a bootleg of our set with a sm58 from the crowd - we then put those recordings online (rip myspace) and people knew those songs at our next show. That was exciting, and it definitely helped us feel more confident to have music out in the world that people listened to, even in that rough form.
Was there a specific artist or moment that made you realize you wanted to make music?
Maybe not specific, I remember warping the melodies from the radio as a kid while waiting in the car for our dad at the hardware store and feeling like it could be my thing. Also bands like Neutral Milk Hotel, Xiu Xiu and Cursive made really big impacts on me as a young person, these singers with unconventionally emotional approaches to world-building and singing in general.
What’s an album or song that still reminds you why you do this?
Voice Actor - Sent From My Telephone. It’s a rich text. Also a lot of the albums coming out of the expanding scene in Copenhagen right now (ML Buch, Astrid Sonne, Smerz).
What’s a sound, sample, or texture you’re currently obsessed with?
Right now I like electronic sounds that have a grimily organic aura to them, connecting them to the physical world or maybe they feel caught between two worlds really, i.e. the digital and physical. Mid-point Singularity-core.
What inspires your approach to writing lyrics?
Lately I get fixated on a feeling or phrase and try to conjure the song stream-of-consciously around it. I think of that like this tip of a melting iceberg that maybe only melts a bit but still changes, or even gets dissolved away completely, becoming part of something ‘bigger’. I’m a meticulous editor of lyrics but I enjoy feeling like I am Trusting the Process somewhere along the way.
What is something you're proud of?
I’m honestly proud of this newest record (Who Died & Made You The Dream?, out Nov. 7th) and I feel grateful to have the skill and support of our collaborators and our label to pull off the ‘making of the thing’ in under a year. We haven’t always done it like this. Scott says he’s “proud that the family band is still together”.
What’s a recent performance, film, or book that left a mark on you?
I saw Oklou in Montreal and it was great, the show was almost like a perfect mix of casual and ornate and somehow further distilled her approach on the recordings for me. Also the movie Mauvais Sang (Leos Carax) I saw recently, that one’s life-affirming.
What’s your greatest challenge right now — and how are you working through it?
That’s one a lot of artists face now, looking at how to make playing live/touring more sustainable - there are roadblocks. But it’s important to us, so we’re seeking new ways. We’ve played with a lot of different people lately all over the country which I think has taught us lessons and allowed us to turn a corner on how we present the songs no matter what’s going on.
What's one piece of advice you’d give to artists just starting out?
Try not to be hard on yourself about ‘wasting time’. Prioritize your taste and follow your curiosity and you can’t go wrong.
What’s the biggest goal you have for your music at this moment?
We always have the goal of connecting with more people and like-minded artists in the hopes of bringing us to new sources of inspo and artistic growth. We want to figure out how to tour smarter too like I was saying - sustainability. Music and our music community have given us a lot and I like thinking that we can be a part of that for others in kind.
Follow the @heavenforreal on Instagram and make sure to check out their new album Who Died & Made You The Dream?
