“Heaven is Begun” is an unconventional foray into the borderlands that separate gospel & secular songcraft. The lyrics speak to themes of doubt, death, and unknowability. The musical arrangements feature the masterful vocalist Laura Ann Singh backed by an avant-jazz rhythm section, operating fearlessly within Sydnor’s own traditional-experimental song structures. Proudly grandiose in its attempts to meld the mundane with the weird, “Heaven Is Begun” slips musical, lyrical, and metaphorical subversion into familiar source material.
1. Battle Hymn of the Republic
2. Not Even Past
3. Nature Strives for Beauty
4. Old Rugged Cross
5. Heavenwards
6. Beyond the Sunset
7. Adagietto
8. Covered in Clover
Curt Sydnor - keys, vocals
Laura Ann Singh - vocals
Scott Clark - drums
Adam Hopkins - bass
Ryan Seaton - orchestrations
Aaron Dugan- guitar on "Nature Strives for Beauty"
Alan Good Parker- lap steel on "Heavenwards"
Gary Kalar - guitar on "Covered in Clover"
Recorded and mixed by Lance Koehler
Mastered by Sarah Register
Album layout and design by Darryl Norsen
All songs by Curt Sydnor except:
"Battle Hymn of the Republic" (Howe/anon)
"Old Rugged Cross" (Bennard)
"Beyond The Sunset" (Brock/Rowswell)
"Adagietto" (Mahler)
