This is a review of the album Anastasia (2013) by Spirits of Leo, and the sixth review here on Track-By-Track.
I found Spirits of Leo during a frantic and nearly-depressing search for shoegaze through the annals of the badly-keyworded and morbidly under-produced Internet. Fortunately, I found the Spirits of Leo release, Anastasia, and was lifted out of the near-depression by its very watery and melodic shoegaze/chillwave tones.
I was surprised by Spirits of Leo being a solo-project, though I did think the band was in surprisingly good synch, both melodically and conceptually. California-based Ryan Santos Phillips wrote, produced, and performed the entire album. Despite a few blips, the mastering is of an extremely high quality; and blips are barely noticeable even at the levels I poured the album into my ears.
With that mental image in mind, here’s my TBT:
“Woodland” is an instrumental introduction track, reminiscent of early Pumpkins, which continues to grow into a shoegaze track (Slowdive-style), with soft layered vocals and guitars. The pitch-treated guitar is a bit like old metal intros that were too-quickly interrupted by the main parts of the songs. I’m happy to say this one doesn’t get kicked out by drums before it’s had its chance to create ripples of emotion. It leads into the next track.
“The Pendant You Wear” has some deeply melodic vocals, and starts with drums like “Tonight, Tonight”, but quickly changes into a more modern-sounding, . It’s an atmosphere with a strong hair-metal-esque beat, and abundant vocal, guitar, and bass beauty. Vocals and the overall tone are like M83 meeting U2 and Love and Rockets. Guitars lift, and bass glues in place, with some low-in-the-mix but equally uniform synths at the end. Every listen enhances the enjoyment of the track to surprising heights.
“Dead Limbs of Winter”, an instrumental track, comes next, and thankfully, the gapless format of the first few tracks doesn’t end here. It’s plaintive and pensive, and almost an ambient track. Winter definitely comes to mind while listening to it. Soft chorus-effected guitars, and an ambient synth landscape below, bring out and lead up to other layers. Bass comes next, with a certain warm strength, and vocalizations and drums finish the track’s progressive etherial structure.
“Ghost Story” is faster, with a slight chillwave influence. It’s like an 80s track, but put through a reverb chamber. The vocals are extremely low in the mix, but the lyrics, fortunately, are provided. There’s a ghostly atmosphere, though the drums at times are a little loud. It’s about atmosphere, like the rest of the album. There’s a heart to it unseen in most songs on the modern hit channels.
“Raccoon” is the next track, and it breaks up the gaplessness from before. It only has four short lines of lyrics, but the upbeat atmosphere and sparse vocals make them stretch to the fullest. Bass and guitar combine well, and the central riff is well-worthy of a Brit pop band like Trash Can Sinatras. It’s catchy and happy, without forgetting the overall watery and warm tone. It very slightly leads into the next track.
“The Fog (Angels)”, the 6th track, is a slower one, with a longer intro, and clearer vocals. I’d liken it to Slowdive, because the guitar, bass, and drum tracks have that watery, softly complimentary quality. Short but great lyrics sung expertly through modulation give the track a sound like returning home (or a comforting place like it). The lyrics, and the way they’re sung, have an unusual and otherworldly, yet ancient-sounding structure.
“Idle Talk” is the hit song, despite how good the rest of the album is. The bassline and guitars are catchy and the lyrics fit the track perfectly. It sounds like a song to walk outside in the fog to, surrounded by neon and streetlights. A great positive return after an emphatic lull in the track, and harmonies to the extreme bring out a kind of loving yet cold warmth. The drums are old-school, but not simple 808s. And the ending is classic. Brief strange sounds lead into the next track.
“Elysian Fields” is definitely like big ‘80s/early ‘90s pop, with some retro industrial drums forming the beat, and the fast guitar-lines often heard back then. It transcends with vocals and synths, and later guitar, all chillwavey and Summer-style. Santos Phillips has somehow structured every one of the songs on Anastasia to a perfect length. It’s unusual for me to find that all the songs on an album feel just right ending where they end, and in this case, I’m surprised.
“Anastasia”, the penultimate track, is fast and upbeat, with a nice ambient/dream pop/chillwave genre-blend. This song lives up to its own lyrics: “You are always in your prime” is a nice description of how this track just builds and creates. It’s like it’s in a constant state of beginning, even in the ending. Great basslines, melodic guitar combos, sweet synths, catchy drums, and succulent processed vocal harmonies make this certain competition for “Idle Talk” in the single-field. The music seems to flow from it, without predictability, even though it could easily see airplay on any hit radio that has the intelligence to see its potential.
“Spirits of Leo” is the last track, a mainly acoustic track, with great vocals, lyrics, and a melody a bit like The Smashing Pumpkins hit, “Perfect”, but only enough to sound like a slight nod. The occasional harpsichord-like notes panned far to the right give it a certain ageless quality, and it’s a perfect ending to a near-perfect album.
Overall, it’s summed up by the first word I said after listening to the album: “Wow”. A soft strength resounds throughout the slower tracks, and some of the faster ones are dangerously catchy, without being too simple or standard to destroy the alternativeness that makes them unique. You can stream and download Anastasia for pay-what-you-want, and more Spirits of Leo releases at: http://spiritsofleo.bandcamp.com (Bandcamp is my preferred music-download and finding site). I can’t imagine the people Anastasia is dedicated to being anything short of proud.
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