Heavenly – Excuse Me (Skep Wax)
Icons of indiepop Heavenly have announced their first album in 30 years – Highway To Heavenly – with the release of single Excuse Me. Check out the single here and get ready to order your copy of Popoptica Zine for a full interview with the band.
Artist: Heavenly
Track: Excuse Me
Label: Skep Wax
Release date:
Find it: Bandcamp | YouTube
Undoubted icons of the indiepop scene it’s the kind of good news 2026 needs to hear Heavenly are back with their first new album in 30 years, a tour taking in the UK, Europe, America and Canada, and a brilliant single in Excuse Me. We’ll get to that in just a moment but first, let’s have a quick recap on this band.
A brief history of Heavenly
You might call Heavenly Jangle Pop, or Indie Pop, or even Twee Pop but what is certain is they ‘rejected the hyper-gendered corporate music scene of the 1990s’ and through signing with Sarah Records in the UK and K Records in the US they found homes for their blend of American Riot Grrrl and English indie scene pop charm. Formed from the ashes of Talulah Gosh the band released 4 albums in 5 years from 1991 but had a career cut tragically short when drummer Mathew Fletcher took his own life in 1996.
Recently the band has seen a resurgence in interest in them, and picked up new fans, as older tracks gained traction on TikTok. It led to original members Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey re-releasing the back catalogue via their own label Skep Wax (also home to Tulpa, European Sun, Would-Be-Goods, Crumbs, Sassihiya, Panic Pocket and more) and finding the time was right to come back together. The band now comprises original members Amelia Fletcher, Peter Momtchiloff, Cathy Rogers and Rob Pursey, who are now joined on drums by Ian Button.
Which brings us up to speed and sets the scene for news of their first new album since 1996 Highway To Heavenly, and Excuse Me, the single they’re introducing us to the record with. And what an introduction it is…
New Heavenly single Excuse Me
Excuse Me has the classic Heavenly sound and yet sounds nothing other than fresh. Lyrical reflections of delicate hearts and wide-eyed shy romances are delivered in girl-group harmony set to sparky, punk-edged melody. It’s celebratory and full of joy, as well as bittersweet yearning for those tentative teenage crushes.
The accompanying video is perfect for the track, making use of archive gig footage behind Amelia and Cathy, their are also polaroid-style images of Heavenly fans pictured in the early ’90s. Amongst those faces we spotted Manda Rin of Bis and Pete Dale of Milky Wimpshake and Knitting Circle…and if this doesn’t demonstrate the enduring community around this band (and labels like Sarah Records) we don’t know what does.
Watch the video for Heavenly single Excuse Me
Excuse Me by Heavenly is out now digitally. Album Highway To Heavenly is set for release via Skep Wax on 27 February 2026. A full interview with the band will be in the first issue of Popoptica Zine – look out for news very soon on how to order your copy.
Find Heavenly: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Live dates:
- 25 February – Just Dropped In, Coventry
- 26 February – The Lexington, London
- 28 February – Temple, Athens
- 5 March – Music Hall, Ramsgate
- 6 March – Petit Bath, Paris
- 8 March – The Lexington, London (Matinee, all ages)
- 14 March – The Nest, Oxford
- 18 March – YES, Manchester
- 19 March – Mono, Glasgow
- 20 March – Pop Recs, Sunderland
- 21 March – Sidney & Matilda, Sheffield
- 26 March – Hope and Ruin, Brighton
- 4 April – Wales Goes Pop, Cardiff
- 16 April – Black Cat, Washington DC
- 17 April – Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia
- 18 April – Bowery Ballroom, New York
- 19 April – The Sinclair, Boston
- 21 April – The Great Hall, Toronto
- 23 April – Empty Bottle, Chicago
- 7 May – Loco Club, Valencia
- 8 May – Sala Galileo Galilei, Madrid
- 10 May – Sala Dabadaba, San Sebastian
- 21 June – Casbah, San Diego
- 22 June – Regent Theatre, Los Angeles
- 24 June – Great American Music Hall
- 26 June – Aladdin Theatre, Portland
- 27 June – The Crocodile, Seattle
- 28 June – Hollywood Theatre, Vancouver
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Sarah Lay
A long-standing music journalist she's also co-founder of independent record label Reckless Yes, an author of novels, and when not messing around with words and music, a digital strategist.
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