THE SPIN by Messa
I went into this album knowing I would love it. It was just a matter of how much.
The Spin comes after the highly praised album Close. The predecessor had a lot going for it; it was more polished than its previous releases and had more character. You could tell the sound was maturing. Close, is a helluva an album.
The Spin had to live up to a lot. They are on a new label now, and the few singles they released prior to the album were stellar. They also had great videos along with them. I knew I was in for a treat when I sat down to listen to The Spin.
psycho666
Listening Notes
- Void Meridian - Atmospheric, Joy Division-like bass line, Sisters like drumming / ambiance. 2:28 mark, the song turns angelic.
- At Races - Vocals are set back; everything seems chorus-y. Still cool. Middle of the song, the track takes a slight jazzy turn. Noir. Foreboding.
- Fire on the Roof - Heavy Synth start. Almost like a beating bass line. The guitars shadow the vocal melody in the intro. Then the song explodes with sound. 2:10 mark, heavy riffs. Song ends with a crescendo.
- Immolation - Synth piano opening. Noir again, sexy. Night club vibes. Right at the bridge; tone of the song changes into something more sinister and evil. Jump to slide guitar. Wild. Goes back to something more beautiful.
- The Dress - Opens heavy and thoughtful? The riffs sounds "questioning" to me? I know that doesn't make sense. Probably my favorite track on the album. There is a transcendent moment at mark 1:28 with the chorus. I love the line "all my monsters / ready to feed / coming over / eating my heart" 2/3 of the way through there is a jazzy interplay between a trumpet and the guitar. Lovely. Ends with a lovely guitar solo and the wonderful chorus. Absolutely gem of a song.
- Reveal - Opens with a blues slide guitar riff. Moves to an electric guitar of a similar riff then a cacophony of instruments, then settles into a up tempo chuggy riff with vocals on top. This song seems the most out of place to me. Ironically the previous track makes this song seem worse just by juxtaposition, not really on merit. It's a good song. Guitar solo has some strange effects on it along with the slide. (The slide guitar doesn't quite work for me.)
- Thicker Blood - Opens with dark moody synths - makes me think of Stranger Things (not a knock); song goes light with some airy vocals then kicks your ass with some heavy riffs. Sometimes almost egyptian-like melodies. Ends with some super creepy vocals. Pretty cool track.
The Production
The production is immaculate. The mix is clear. The vocal treatment is a bit wet, and could be processed a bit cleaner in my opinion but it isn't distracting at all. From the liner notes, to the videos, you could tell that the team had a vision of this release and it all ties together so well.
The Lyrics
I ... like the lyrics for the most part. They definitely don't get in the way of me enjoying the experience, but they tend to follow an equation:
Something something A or B?
Something something X or Y?
Here's an example right out of the gate of the first song:
It's the road that keeps you running
Or the drive that keeps your grind?
It's the soul that keeps you grounded
Or the blood you're spilling out?
Now, this is some Paradise Lost level writing right here. It's vague enough to mean just about anything and borders on meaningless. It can be tough to determine if there is something deep here or just waxy prose. I will leave that up to you. In the meantime enjoy this video:
