I have to thank my friend Jim Testa of The Constant Listener for turning me on to ‘Oh Good! Sacred Heart Academy Made an EP’ by Sacred Heart Academy He wrote a detailed review you can read here.
A little history. Back in the twenty-teens, there was a family band based in Jersey City called Rock N Roll Hi Fives. And I mean literally family. Guitarist Joe Centeno (formerly of Plug Spark Sanjay, one of my all time favorite bands), his wife Gloree on bass, daughter Eilee on vocals, and son Evren on drums. The kids were very young. The parents were enthusiastic. You could feel the joy they had in working as a band. Their performances were filled with an infectious high energy.
Fast forward to 2025. Eilee and Evren — now in their twenties — relocated to Chicago and to make their own brand of indie rock under the name Sacred Heart Academy. This project is clearly a personal mission of love and passion. The songs are superbly written. Just quirky and mature enough to sit in an original space of creativity. As Jim put it in his review, “Forget bubblegum — these songs ache.” And boy do they. From reminiscence to heartache, you can really feel every song.
To call them multi-talented would not be hiperbole, it’s plain fact. Eilee plays guitars, bass, clarinet, percussion, and theremin. Evren plays drums, keys, sax, and also engineered the recordings. They alternate taking lead vocals duties on different tracks. As much as there is going on, there is a definite through line on this EP. The title ‘Oh Good! Sacred Heart Academy Made an EP’, says it all. This is in fact very good. I’m so happy to see them continuing to make music. I can’t wait to hear more.
In the meantime, you can buy this EP on Bandcamp.
Cheers!
Stephen
