"listen to the reason why..." (album photo courtesy of Bella Petro)
Pulling the trigger on "Western Violence" by Spirit Award, Seattle-based singer/songwriter Daniel Lyon and bassist and collaborator Sunny Day Real Estate’s Chris Jordan, at this time in America while an truly evocative artistic experience is also an emotional gut punch. The track from Spirit Award's upcoming album "The Fear" out May 19th (via Share It Music) I cannot divorce from the unprecedented mass shootings that pepper my phone's social media like blood splatter, literal Nazi's in the dark grooming children across this country and a mini-Hitler in Florida figuratively loading members of the LGBTQ community on rail cars and effectively reshaping the darkness of past days, white washing who we are and have been.
"Western Violence" bends genres and with it's alt rock / post punk forward strut. Lyon and Jordan infuse a collision of blues and alt country in the sonics here too, as well as surf punk. It is like an amalgam of OSEES, The Drones, Cracker to name a few. The sound, drawn out in psychedelia, also feels sort of 70's acid washed and part of me wishes the vocals were not so effect canned. The potency of the lyrics might suffer the back splash, the haze that bounces back like old school spring reverb.
For me, there is the sense here ["daddy was born in the western violence, says he gonna kill them all by midnight, baby was born in the western violence..."] that we, this country is born out of violence and the unfettered darkness of such killing is passed on, that it is tied to God, to Religious "rightism", to superiority of the 'Western Bible' over other dogmas and, like a contagion, those messages are deeply embedded within our molecules. In this sense bastardized religious dogma has told us that we have the right to kill others because compared to the 'others' we are Gods.
About the song the band's Daniel Lyon says:
“This song fitting in with the theme of the rest of the record is about finding the truth. Asking the questions that challenge your beliefs. Finding the facts, and weed out the things that don’t stick. The things that you may have from your upbringing, bias or your ego.”
More illumination from Press notey stuff:
[The band's vision has always been to make something with intention, love, vulnerability, raw emotion, and authenticity that captures the human spirit. The sound has morphed into a feeling and sound that is motorik, psychedelic, fuzzy, ethereal, driving, and aggressive but still maintains some pop sensibilities, citing the work of Arthur Russell, Neu!, and Suicide among their inspiration.
The new album, "The Fear", co-produced/mixed by Trevor Spencer (Beach House, Father John Misty, is an exploration of the supernatural, love, dreaming/waking, and most of all facing the things that scare you or you think you can’t do, all encompassed in a warping and changing landscape. Shedding your perceived notions of what you think life or the world is and being open to new ideas or experiences. "The Fear" is intended as a meditation, a release of energy and putting positivity and motivation for creating love and joy, challenging what you were raised in or what society tells you to believe. Finding what rings true to you based on your experience, enjoying the journey with plenty of room to ask questions and entertain the mystical.]
The new album, "The Fear", co-produced/mixed by Trevor Spencer (Beach House, Father John Misty, is an exploration of the supernatural, love, dreaming/waking, and most of all facing the things that scare you or you think you can’t do, all encompassed in a warping and changing landscape. Shedding your perceived notions of what you think life or the world is and being open to new ideas or experiences. "The Fear" is intended as a meditation, a release of energy and putting positivity and motivation for creating love and joy, challenging what you were raised in or what society tells you to believe. Finding what rings true to you based on your experience, enjoying the journey with plenty of room to ask questions and entertain the mystical.]
[While there are a lot of dark themes, there is a hope and light at the end of them, and a call to others to get active and motivated to make positive changes in themselves and in communities around them. While the band's purpose is to make music, Daniel is very vocal and committed to helping social, racial and economic injustices. For this record, they have chosen to donate 25% of their sales through Share It Music to the ACLU, helping to fight for individual rights and liberties.]
-Robb Donker Curtius
https://soundcloud.com/spirit-award
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2292qee860HNM8MjdKK4iZ
https://www.instagram.com/spirit_award/
https://www.spiritawardmusic.com/
Spirit Award, post punk, alt rock, surf punk, politico punk, singer/songwriter Daniel Lyon & bassist and Sunny Day Real Estate’s Chris Jordan, "Western Violence", history repeats, new album "The Fear",
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://soundcloud.com/spirit-award
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2292qee860HNM8MjdKK4iZ
https://www.instagram.com/spirit_award/
https://www.spiritawardmusic.com/
https://www.bellapetrophoto.com/
Seattle-based Spirit Award are known for their unique mix of sprawling stereo guitars, stunningly moody soundscapes and a driving drum and bass foundation. While Spirit Award are aptly capable of generating catchy psych moments, there at times seem to be no calculable formula to their writing style. Composed of Daniel Lyon and a cast of rotating musicians, their goal to create a project with grit and authenticity is clearly evident throughout their music.
Spirit Award’s third LP, Lunatic House was in part a collaboration between Daniel and Producer Trevor Spencer (Fleet Foxes, Valley Maker) and Drummer/Engineer James Barone (Beach House, Tennis, Nathaniel Rateliff). The idea was to create a vibe through the record; aggressive, noisy, and pulsating.
Thematically, Lunatic House feels a bit like a haunted house. But instead of monsters or killer clowns, we see everyday nightmares: power hungry billionaires, racism, a declining planet, addiction, misinformation, death, and the sins of America's past and present. The song Unlock the Door asks the question “Who caused the world to suffer and die, while they sat idly by?”, while Shout (Kill the Rich) chants the line “Kill the rich, feed the poor”, as a plea to flip the tables of extreme wealth to benefit the rest of humanities struggles and irreversible climate change. While there are some heavy concepts on the record, some lighter songs like NGDWY and Mantra center around love and commitment, and balance the heaviness of the record.
Seattle-based Spirit Award are known for their unique mix of sprawling stereo guitars, stunningly moody soundscapes and a driving drum and bass foundation. While Spirit Award are aptly capable of generating catchy psych moments, there at times seem to be no calculable formula to their writing style. Composed of Daniel Lyon and a cast of rotating musicians, their goal to create a project with grit and authenticity is clearly evident throughout their music.
Spirit Award’s third LP, Lunatic House was in part a collaboration between Daniel and Producer Trevor Spencer (Fleet Foxes, Valley Maker) and Drummer/Engineer James Barone (Beach House, Tennis, Nathaniel Rateliff). The idea was to create a vibe through the record; aggressive, noisy, and pulsating.
Thematically, Lunatic House feels a bit like a haunted house. But instead of monsters or killer clowns, we see everyday nightmares: power hungry billionaires, racism, a declining planet, addiction, misinformation, death, and the sins of America's past and present. The song Unlock the Door asks the question “Who caused the world to suffer and die, while they sat idly by?”, while Shout (Kill the Rich) chants the line “Kill the rich, feed the poor”, as a plea to flip the tables of extreme wealth to benefit the rest of humanities struggles and irreversible climate change. While there are some heavy concepts on the record, some lighter songs like NGDWY and Mantra center around love and commitment, and balance the heaviness of the record.
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