by Jon Piotrowski (@visioncults)
Poised with emotional intelligence and calibrated force, the self-titled debut album from SPICE churns through the vast and emotive human chamber of pain and raw sentiment. This intoxicatingly precise and cathartic collective, exploring what the band refers to as the “power of groupthink,” is a true balance of life at its core. Formed in 2018 and rooted inherently in the North Bay of San Francisco, SPICE is comprised of vocalist Ross Farrar and drummer Jake Casarotti (both of Ceremony), violinist Victoria Skudlarek, bassist Cody Sullivan (Sabertooth Zombie, No Sir), and guitarist Ian Simpson (Creative Adult, No Sir).
On “First Feeling,” the album’s opening track, Farrar wastes no time in establishing his barreling vocals with sincerity and intense conviction. Anchored by the driving charge behind Casarotti’s drums, waves of swirling guitars, and vigorous currents of floor-to-ceiling explosiveness, this burly introduction implores connectivity at every turn and without any excuse. Beyond the initial surges of indie rock prowess and veteran post-punk alarm, the cohesive life-form that the band set out to create quickly manifests seamlessly and exponentially into so much more in such a short amount of time.
Interwoven with Skudlarek’s subtle yet pronounced layers of violin and sprinkled field recordings from the members’ everyday lives, the allure of the record is the raw and fragile nature of this indestructible machine. The push and pull is fluid by design, never resting on one specific mood or expression for more than a moment. Its thrust being as poignant and effective as its restraint, with the meditative instrumental, “Vo The Night” functioning as the perfect intermezzo. The murky backbone that navigates the album from start to finish is the commanding strength of Ross Farrar’s melodic vocal trance. From the grim chug of “Black Car,” to the alt-rock drone and remorseful swash of “The Building Was Gone,” SPICE conjures the dank bravado of Catherine Wheel, the confessional stride of Jawbreaker, and the unadulterated vitality of Fugazi. This is art-rock at it’s finest.
SPICE comments on the album: “To authentically express pain can be difficult. It comes towards us every day in some shape or another, and parsing out which side to expel can prove arduous. With that, choosing what to hold that pain in, how to package it can also be hard. Then besets the question of form. In the adverse, too much sentimentality can soften form, yet too much pain - well - a good balance is due. At the onset of any artistic endeavor there is a (conscious or unconscious) search for form. Form is the vehicle’s engine, it lies beneath everything, a scaffold for content, where content stays.”
The final track, “I Don’t Wanna Die In New York,” the song originally workshopped for the album, book-ends the record with sheer determination. The feeling of electricity pulsates through the veins of this track as it addresses an ethereal crisis while providing an immediate solution, descending as eloquent as it is powerful. In the search for one communal form, in less than thirty minutes, SPICE has delivered the perfect narrative. Recorded at The Panda Studios in Fremont, CA by highly sought-after producer and Bay Area native, Sam Pura, the band will join the mysteriously attractive Dais Records catalogue with their release, adding a fierce rock ‘n roll element to a label known for housing trailblazers of modern electronic, dark wave, and no wave (Psychic TV, Cold Cave, ADULT.)