LA alt-punk band SP’s doesn’t bother with a build-up here. “Spirit World” goes straight into business with a drum pattern that’s genuinely hard to place, bouncy, unique, and unlike anything you’ve likely heard before, with distorted guitars and vocals that sound filtered through an old telephone or television that gives the whole thing a gritty, high passed edge, while the song itself feels like it is being transmitted from a kind of vintage device.
There’s a lot going on in the instrumentals, too. The guitar effects, vox effects, and other sound textures make the whole thing feel like you’re in a different world, like you’ve been dropped into some kind of simulation. Soft ethereal female vocals show up right as the song slows down, pulling things into a laid-back, dreamy stretch before everything snaps back to the chaos it started with.
I will shepherd your soul into the afterlife with me
I will shepherd your soul into the spirit world
Those lines run through the whole song, and they fit the theme perfectly. The lyrics play with death as something almost comforting and inviting, rather than frightening; it feels like you’re drifting through an astral sea and being guided somewhere new, instead of just disappearing. It gives the song a strange warmth underneath all that grim.
The song sounds cool, childlike, and strange, built around one of the most distinct drum patterns out there. “Spirit World” is a wild, memorable ride from start to finish.
Written by Toyo Senpai
