Heatmiser: Mic City Sons (30th Anniversary Edition) [Classic Album Revisit]

Heatmiser
Mic City Sons (30th Anniversary Edition)
Third Man Records [2025]

Released: 1996/Reissue: July 25, 2025
Producer: Rob Schnapf; Tom Rothrock; Band
Length: 39 minutes / Reissue – 1:15:00

“Tension never sounded this tuneful—Mic City Sons captures a band on the brink and at their best.”

Formed in 1991 in Portland, Oregon, Heatmiser were a scrappy, guitar-driven four-piece featuring Elliott Smith, Neil Gust, Sam Coomes, and Tony Lash. They cut their teeth in the Pacific Northwest scene with a few cult-favorite releases, but their third and final album, Mic City Sons, was both their major-label leap and their swan song. Tensions had been brewing—Smith’s solo career was taking off, Gust and Coomes were heading in different directions, and the studio became a pressure cooker. Somehow, through all that chaos, they captured lightning in a bottle.

Mic City Sons feels like a band racing the clock and each other—and that urgency crackles through every track. It’s raw and tightly wound, but never shapeless. Gust’s punchy hooks and Smith’s moody guitar work clash and complement each other, making for a sound that’s both jagged and weirdly melodic. This is Heatmiser’s most fully formed statement, and it still hits hard for fans of ‘90s indie rock with real emotional weight.

SINGLES: No official singles were released from the album, but “Plainclothes Man” leads with haunting restraint, setting the tone for everything that follows. “Cruel Reminder” is a taut, punchy standout that reportedly sparked some real-life tension—Smith thought it was about him (it wasn’t). And “Pop In G” hints at a version of Heatmiser that might’ve crossed over, balancing power-pop energy with murkier undertones.

DEEP CUTS: “You Gotta Move” is a slow-burning gem, one of the album’s most vulnerable moments. “Blue Highway” hits like a late-night drive through unresolved feelings. And “Rest My Head Against the Wall” sways between resolve and exhaustion—a clear portrait of a band running on instinct and fumes.

ARTISTS WITH SIMILAR FIRE: If you dig the jagged edge of Superchunk, the push-pull tension of Archers of Loaf, or Elliott Smith’s early solo work (Either/Or, XO), Mic City Sons belongs in your rotation. There’s also a sonic kinship with Sebadoh’s emotional wreckage or the gritty sprawl of early Built to Spill.

INTERESTING FACT: Even though they were signed to Virgin, Heatmiser were dropped after the label found out they were breaking up. Mic City Sons was recorded in a DIY home studio the band built themselves. Smith and Gust’s relationship had frayed so badly, Smith thought the other was writing some songs as veiled digs. One standout from the reissue, “Christian Brothers,” is actually a full-band revamp of a track from Smith’s 1995 solo debut.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?: After the split, Elliott Smith launched a solo career that earned critical acclaim and a devoted following before his tragic passing in 2003. Neil Gust formed the band No. 2 and continued making music with a personal tilt. Sam Coomes kept rolling with his long-running duo Quasi, while Tony Lash pivoted into production and mixing—eventually remastering this very edition.

BONUS TRACKS IN THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION: The remastered 2xLP adds twelve extras that show just how much gas was left in the tank. There’s a blistering demo of “Christian Brothers” that sounds even more urgent than the album take, and a stripped-down version of “You Gotta Move” that’s heartbreak laid bare. Previously unreleased tracks like “Burned Out, Still Glowing” and “Dark Cloud” (written in frustration over Smith) carry the same tension and weight as anything on the original. “I’m Over That Now,” rebuilt by Lash from Smith’s acoustic vocal track and new instrumentation, is especially gutting. These aren’t throwaways—they deepen the whole story.

HEATMISER LINKS
Instagram | Bandcamp | Third Man Records