Spun: Spring

By Connor Sadler

Looking at the cover of the latest album from Sprïng I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. However the album Celebrations turned out to be an eclectic blend of soft indie and hard core metal synth and radio noise genres. The Vancouver-based group pairs two musical styles that switch from soft and melodic tunes to dissonant and chaotic guitar riffs and percussion sections, giving the whole album a dual atmosphere. But when the two conflicting styles are layered together, they produce beautiful music with a full, if somewhat needlessly complex sound.

The vocals in the album are faded to the background giving a light, ethereal presence to the music leaving the main melodic components to be filled by guitar and piano. The opening track “To Accuse,” begins with chaotic and loud instrumentals which gradually fade into more traditional indie music with gentle vocals and acoustic accompaniment. The music continues to flip back and forth between the two styles, eventually overlapping each other near the end of the song into a sound that is messy yet mesmerizing. Starting with rising and falling piano scales, “Pax Calx” has an airy almost dreamy feeling to it, with lower sections being filled by guitar reverb without pronounced bass. “You’re The One” closes out the album, opening with deep drum and bass, which are quickly accompanied by softer vocals and acoustic guitar harmonies giving a full and layered sound to the track.

Celebrations has certainly taken a new approach to music combining two almost opposite genres of music into a working album. The abrupt changes between indie and hard-rock music can be somewhat disconcerting, but when both are played at once, the music gains a unique and captivating harmony. Sprïng’s music isn’t for everyone, but if you’re a fan of alternative indie music, I would recommend checking out Celebrations.

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