We'll look at a new release by a Texas music artist, one I've been following since I saw their show at The Cavern back during their first album, 2004's 'It's Un-American To Be Sad'.
I'm sure I'll be harping about them a lot in the coming months because there's a lot from their catalog to cover.
It should be said now that The Spiral Sound has not been a band since its 2004 release and has since been carried on by original frontman Christian Mauch.
'This Means War' would be The Spiral Sound's fourth album.
This was actually released on June 24th but in the past 24 hours, Christian dropped a new remix of his "Le Triste" single that you can check out here.
If you would like to support this our service and Christian at the same time, pre-order this single via Amazon for your playlist!
"Go (Song)"
In some single releases from the past, a chaotic approach has always been obvious which is why this Texas musician labels himself as experimental, but there's always been a coherence that reveals itself.
"Go (Song)" takes the same approach but the coherence revealed is less melodic and more of a rocker, or another self-assigned genre of Plastic SexRock.
Ian Brown comes to mind if I were to attach this style to something more familiar.
There's a little Thom Yorke when he sings "I could just push it away", toward the end. Subject-wise, this song seems to appeal to that sense of reluctance with necessity where they make themselves available and then unavailable again.
It's when we get to "Neuromantic" that I get that flow I know The Spiral Sound for.
For me, the Christian Mauch swagger starts when at the end of the first verse he says "Plenty more to come after," where it breaks into a running flow that's consistent throughout the track.
I've always thought that Mauch's voice has a Peter Murphy type of stance or an edgier Neil Diamond if you'd like.
Also, the play-on-words of the title "Neuromantic" isn't lost on me and seem to be about the head games played when meeting someone new.
Mauch is familiar with this exchange as he points out the experience of age and how this matters even less.
Personally, I can't imagine a successful relationship at my age and feel like I've dodged a bullet when nothing comes out of meeting someone new:
"I would come say hi If you had a self to know. I’m not invited. I’m all excited. Driving myself home. And every time I close my eyes I know it’d ease your pain. Never mind me before I drive us all insane."
"Timberlake"
The structure of this song comes across as sweet in a vulnerable way. At this point in the album, we're getting a little more of a peek into Mauch's social gymnastics.
There's a tinge of sadness along the way but it's hopeful.
He's willing to accept the emotional support, due to the threatening environment that surrounds him.
Has he been conditioned since his youth to keep his distance?
Thus far, this I feel is the most accessible song in the entire release. I'm willing to let the theme around this album pass me by because it's not so straightforward. Should it be?
We don't want to make it that easy.
"Le' Triste (feat. The Candlelight Service)"
Christian Mauch's collab with John Hexagon AKA The Candlelight Service is wise.
They're both self-produced and holding things down without the need for a band. Hexagon has been doing collabs since his earliest releases so this is certainly welcome.
It's danceable much like much of Mauch's work where it also comes across as a remix.
While experimental, I find The Spiral Sound's danceable beat-driven work to be most interesting in that it's an odd hybrid of electro-clash and jangle, and it gives us a peek into what kind of disco Mauch is into.
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A Few Questions For Spiral Sound's Christian Mauch
Dune:
Listening to 'This Means War', I get a summertime vibe from it. A question of the utmost importance, what's a better summertime treat, Four Loko ice cream float or Frito-pie pizza cake?
Mauch:
Four Loco cake/ice cream float! Of course.
Dune:
The title of the album, 'This Means War' is clear. I find myself shifting gears when listening to it because the expectation is to play offense with the enemy but there are many moments in this release where the war-like approach is strategic. What is the theme of this album that falls in line with that title?
Mauch:
I am attracted to war for some reason. It’s brutal and messy. Appalling and yet…sexy. There is a major war going on in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion of the sovereign nation a little more than a year ago Every other soldier, Russian and Ukrainian, has a GoPro or an iPhone capturing the ugly face of the war, very up close and very close quarters. All for the masses to see on YouTube, Telegram, etc. A WW1-era trench warfare style conflict, except the munitions, are precision enough to hit a target within one meter up to a nose hair. And these men are in TRENCHES. As I silently chastised, myself for being a voyeur, I thought these scenes remind me of how it would look if I turned the camera inward on myself. Because I am well aware there is a massive conflict going on inside of myself. And I bet I’m not the only one as I’m quite privy to my fair share and then some ridicule, alienation, and condemnation by my community and social peers. This always makes me wonder what’s going on inside of them that makes one so quick to judge and discard someone for being eccentric or “weird”. (Creep song plays in the foreground for a brief moment…the Radiohead one…not discounting STP’s 90’s hit of the same name.
Final Thoughts on Spiral Sound's 'This Means War'
Some might take issue with Mauch's view of war being "appalling and yet ...sexy", but I get that to mean that there's something about the control involved and the systemtatic determination to see the completion of an idea worth fighting for.
I will say that in trying to find the themes in this album, it has certainly dominated my summer and isn't a release I will soon forget. Christian is an odd duck for sure and I'm always surprised and therefore, always looking forward to more Spiral Sound releases.
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