Spiritbox are riding their wave.
Having gradually built up a growing reputation in the modern alternative scene, Courtney LaPlante (vocals, ex-Iwrestledabearonce) and Mike Stringer (guitar/vocals, ex-Iwrestledabearonce), now joined by Zev Rosenberg (drums) and Josh Gilbert (bass, ex-As I Lay Dying, ex-Wovenwar), announce the release of their second studio album, Tsunami Sea.
Fata Morgana is a groovy dissonant attack, somehow a very modern composition that first highlights the rhythm section before allowing Courtney‘s vocals to take center stage. The riffs are relatively simple, even offering a moment’s respite before moving on to the slower finale, then it’s with Black Rainbow that the band hits us full force, confirming their chaotic touch and hellish harmonics as the vocalist adorns herself with cybernetic effects. The sound breaks cleanly before moving on to Perfect Soul, a calmer, more accessible track where even the heaviness is rather gentler than on the other tracks, but this “improvised ballad” will eventually grow stronger before the finale, which segues naturally into Keep Sweet, where the saturated vocals take over the reins on the angriest passages. The rest of the track continues in the same vein as the previous one, before being shaken up by Soft Spine, where we find again that infernal, overexcited touch that makes us want to repeat our most beautiful karate moves while the guitar goes up in flames. The album continues with the eponymous Tsunami Sea, a track with slight traces of technicality in the leads, but which remains heady enough, thanks in particular to the vocals, before moving on to A Haven With Two Faces, where the sound is tinged with dark riffs right down to the harmonics. The musicians follow up with No Love, No Lost, which reprises its hardcore tones to create a real energy boost, but also its dark, oppressive aura on the moshparts, again punctuating the short track. A new sample with the start of Crystal Roses, then it’s with this soaring, cybernetic musical personality that the voice steps in and tempers the composition, which could have been much wilder, but remains very gentle, like Ride The Wave, which starts off quite gently and offers more imposing passages. The band take advantage of the track’s length to slow it down or, on the contrary, let it erupt, then the two universes blend before Deep End takes us back to its quietude, agitated by bursts of heaviness, but also by the soft voice of the vocalist.
Despite some simply heavy and rather energetic passages, Spiritbox seems to lose momentum with Tsunami Sea. Fans will be won over, but the band digs a deeper ditch with their Metalcore roots.
70/100