Spirits Having Fun recorded their second album, Two, in the summer of 2019, but for all the obvious reasons it’s been delayed – and will finally be seeing release next Friday, September 3. Patience is something the band have to practice, as the foursome are spread between NYC and Chicago, so can only get together to practice and write occasionally. But when those moments come, it seems like there’s an uncontainable explosion of ideas. Previous singles “Hold The Phone” and “Entropy Transfer Partners” have given us different viewpoints on this creativity, but their latest, “See A Sky”, might be the most tenderly inventive yet.
At first a song that languishes in dreamy guitar tones and distant synth keys, “See A Sky” does genuinely feel like lying back and looking to that far off big blue, wondering “when will I be with you?”. Jesse Heasly’s bass locks into Phil Sudderberg jazz-like drumming, pushing Katie McShane’s free-floating vocals on, and suddenly it feels like we’re floating towards the clouds purely on the power of her imagination. “It will be me,” she determines, and suddenly Spirits Having Fun switch tack to a math-rock-esque mid section that threatens to drag as back down to Earth, but relents and allows McShane to float onwards in her balloon-like mind. Finally, “See A Sky” seems to approach its far-flung destination, slowing down to a near-halt before dashing back for a starry-eyed finale where McShane’s voice bounces off that of guitarist-vocalist Andrew Clinkman, and it feels like a pair of friends or lovers have finally connected again – even if it’s only spiritually.
Spirits Having Fun’s new album Two is out next week, on September 3, through Born Yesterday records. You can find the band on Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
