The New Heaven and The New Earth centers around the compositions of Roger Alejandro Martinez and the production work of Jeffrey Russ. Martinez, who for years had been writing songs in various bands, found himself bored with the conventions of the indie-rock world. Russ, a classically trained cellist, found himself restricted by the dogma of music academia. When Martinez showed Russ a set of recordings he was working on, the two began collaborating. The result was The New Heaven and The New Earth's debut EP "All Saints' Day," a collection of dark, vocal-harmony laden chamber pop songs, set to lyrics that deal with mythology, madness and death. Martinez's songs on "All Saints' Day" are augmented by Russ' studio sensibilities, which blend unconventional and professional recording techniques.
Shortly after the completion of "All Saints' Day," The New Heaven and The New Earth began touring as a three piece band, placing the expansive sound of the EP into a more intimate setting. Recently, the group began working on new material which ventures into increasingly intricate arrangements that don't abandon the immediacy of pop songwriting.
"This collection of six songs handles itself much like a stranger at a street fair, propelled on by it's hunger and emptiness, yet tragically beautiful as a natural beast that is perpetually stuck. They sing as if they have found scraps for dinner, and eat, all the while knowing it's rotten. The cellos shift gracefully as only a bleeding heart can shift through moments and days and years. Accompanied by beautiful chords and simple slow beats, portraits of low poignant freckles of time frozen by myth and melody. It is sad, luring, and yet still shines light, demonstrating the delicate partnership between hope and fear."
Quarantine, September 5th, 2010
"Throughout the EP, Martinez's vocals float ghost-like through an enchantingly mysterious field of hang-picked guitar, swirling arpeggios and distant strings. The result is a lush, otherworldly soundscape that is both unsettling and occasionally hopeful, which is mirrored perfectly by Martinez's eerie lyrics.."
Musical Pairings, September 3rd, 2010
"Roger Alejandro Martinez named his latest outfit after a verse from the freakiest part of the Bible, the Revelations chapter that envisions the end of days and beyond. The music, though, is a gentler kind of apocalypse, hand-made folk with shadowy plainsong harmonies, unearthly chimes and bells and angelic harp strums. Martinez...crafts pretty, vaguely unsettling chants and ditties in the Philly freaked tradition of Espers and Fursaxa."
Philadelphia Weekly
"The New Heaven and the New Earth read a totally different bible than I did. They flipped past the child-like wonderment and saw only the darkness. With the band's first release they land a place immediately into the stormy night bin... Like a children's bible story done by Tim Burton. Horrifying, yet beautiful. A deep sorrow covers this entire album. From start to finish I can't shake the feeling of seeing the end of days from inside an old middle-age church. Even the lighter tracks are covered with haunting arrangments and anything but biblical lyrics. No this is a beast all to itself."
Bolachas, September 10th, 2009
"Lots of bells and chimes, autoharps, strings, and classical-style-fingerpicked guitars fit in aptly with the release's title All Saints' Day. It has a bit of an eerie, almost medieval feel at times, though always musical. Track titles include 'St. Francis,' and 'Noah'..., but this certainly isn't church music as you'll no doubt find upon listening. Haunting harmonies and melodies, dark lyrics, great musicianship."
The Broken Bell, July 17th, 2009
"Leur musique parvient de cette manière à associer un ton léger à des idées glauques, dans une ambiance instrumentale rappelant souvent la douceur de Grizzly Bear. L'EP All Saints Day (en français, le jour de la Toussaint) est une découverte assez fascinante qui hante écoute après écoute ; je conseille ce disque à tous ceux qui perçoivent une certaine beauté dans le mystère, dans l'obscurité."
The Music Rainbow, October 2009
