Presence

 

SPECTRES

Presence

(Artoffact)

When I write these little album things, I often struggle to find ways to describe the music involved.  I try to use the tried too much use of comparisons, and it often leaves me uneasy.  First off, though sometimes effective, I often times find comparisons unfair to the artist that I am writing about.  Everyone hears things differently.  I try not to pull out too many obscure references, because those can be meaningless to most potential readers.   As a reader of music reviews myself, I can be turned off by too many unknown references.  I don’t need to know that the writer is so damn hip, plus I often find as an older person that my references are often dated – so much so that the artist I’m writing about may not have been born, while I was bouncing off the walls listening as a teen.

The newest SPECTRES album, Presence, their fifth full length is a refreshing reminder that time is relative and crucial regarding how we all perceive events and how we proceed with decision making for our lives.  The song “Waiting,” which stands as the middle point of this collection, opens with a dramatic musical build up that levels into a melancholic love song.  The beautiful chorus of “Waiting for the sunrise / Waiting for the day / All for your reaction / Your one in a million” can be interpreted as a nice love song, or that “your” instead of “you’re” it feels more like a dissertation about timing.  The juxtaposition of patience versus time.  Can we hold off even knowing that our one n a million chances might be jeopardized?  Time is referenced in almost every song on this album, from the generational struggle inside “The Old Regime,” to the stuck in the past vision of “AM Gold,” to the closing message to take time, take stock and “Start Again.”  Vocalist/lyricist Brian Gustavson provides a lot of thought-provoking words. 

One of the reasons that I say that SPECTRES’ music is refreshing, is because as an old fart, their music makes me feel like a kid again.  Not only do they remind me musically in the most simplistic terms of a remarkable melding of early New Order and Big Country, but they also evoke a wonder at the size of our world, and a belief in possibilities.  They are twenty year veterans who sound like classic 80s post punk, but only discovered recently.  I absolutely adore the variety of Presence.  “Chain Reaction” brings an angry punk energy, while “Real World” sounds like what should be a hugely popular pop song, as well as the yearning quality of the wondrous “One Day.”  The spikey guitars of “AM Gold” sounds like a lost outtake from Big Country’s The Crossing, while “Dominion” evokes early Chameleons with its exciting twin guitar urgency. 

There I went and dragged out a bunch of 40 year old references.  However, SPECTRES are no retro act.  These songs are relevant and current, and really fun to listen to. 

(https://spectresvancouver.bandcamp.com/album/presence)

SPECTRES "AM Gold"

Nostalgia

Spectres

Nostalgia

(Artoffact)

Nostalgia indeed!  When I first listened to this album from Vancouver BC’s Spectres (their 4^th LP, but my introduction), I was immediately transported back to when I was a shy kid in the 80s losing myself in the discovery of post-punk music.  These discoveries were so exciting for me that I still get a charge thinking about it.  I used to dream about finding rare (or non-existent) vinyl singles in strange places, like in the grocery store near the produce, or in a roped off section of a hardware store.  These records would have striking cover art that would intensify my curiosity about what mysterious music was inside to discover.  Hell, I still have dreams like these on occasion.  What’s so great about Nostalgia is it not only sounds like it could’ve come from the early 80s UK indie chart (though thankfully without the over treated 80s drum sounds), but it could’ve thrived there.  I can easily see them being heralded as legends now, if they had been a part of that era.

The most obvious influence could be the bass, which draws on the style that Peter Hook created in Joy Division and New Order.  The opening of the incredible “When Possessed Pray” is very reminiscent of “Ceremony,” and the influence is only intensified when vocalist Brian Gustavson borrows the vocal melody from “Age of Consent” to open the second verse.  What’s funny though, is despite a handful of nicks like these here and there, Spectres do not sound like any particular previous band at all.  My introduction to Spectres is the second track “Dreams.”  This song is a shimmering breath of fresh air as it evokes both the excitement and sadness of a young relationship that is experiencing that first separation.  One is off across the world, while the other stays at home.  The trebly guitar chimes of the chorus is exhilarating. 

It’s damn refreshing to encounter lyrics that are about things beyond broken hearts and relationships (don’t get me wrong, I love these things too), but here we get songs about the world, culture, religion, and politics – but not in a preachy specific way.  The LP opens with “The Head and the Heart,” which builds momentum as it progresses, making it a perfect introduction.  It is about discovering a worldview beyond religious doctrine and they seem pretty happy about it as the song closes with the repeated refrain of “the worst is over.”  Elsewhere, in “Pictures from Occupied Europe,” Gutavson channels Pete Shelley as he shouts over a frenetic set of verses lamenting the fact that we struggle to learn from history and as a warning against the factors that lead to fascism (“Recondition / shapes of what’s to come / polarized parties / breakdown has begun / and no one cares what happened anymore”).  The dangers of political polarization between the left and right continues in “Years of Lead,” which has an absolutely killer guitar hook.  “Insurgence” reflects all of this political tension and comes on the some chanted “woooah –oooooohs” like a fueled up to the point Killing Joke.  Meanwhile, “The Call” is a song after my heart with its Peter Hook bass intro that jumps in like Big Country’s “Steeltown.”  I can almost hear a phantom e-bow from the ghost of Stuart Adamson, as the sing-along chorus kicks in.  As my friend Matt said, when I shared this song with him: “That’s got it going on.”  The exciting finale is “Along the Waterfront,” with its stumbling forward musical momentum and its melancholy mix of the excitement and possibility of youth and the dashed hopes of experience. 

There is not a weak track on this collection.  If you like you like UK post punk, catchy pop songs, and thoughtful lyrics, then this is likely right up your alley.  Highly recommended!

(https://spectresvancouver.bandcamp.com/)

Spectres "When Possessed Pray