After recording their last album in a barn, Spirettes (formerly Katey Sleeveless) are out with their debut studio album. The trio–Kate Perdoni (guitar), Kellie Palmblad (bass), and Emily Gould (drums)–is yet another great act coming out of Colorado Springs, a city more widely known for its military presence, evangelical voter base and not legalizing recreational weed than its underground music scene. Nevertheless, the town is home to great music by the likes of Cheap Perfume, Sound Studies, Mobdividual, Tigerwine and We Are Not A Glum Lot. It also has a growing arts scene. Spirettes are the cherry on top.
The (aptly) self-described power trio churns out a torrent of sound that will no doubt earn it the ever popular “shoegaze” label. You can hear it in the feedback-fueled wall of sound that opens the EP in Old Friend. The wall shifts and bends, but never breaks under an assault of overdrive guitar stabs and hauntingly infectious vocal melodies.
The Spirettes never let go of that heavy, noisy aesthetic; but they don’t let it define the EP either, as they break into Records, a very “alternative” track that almost feels like a tribute to 4 Non Blondes with a punk punch.
In its promo material, the trio points to David Lynch-infused dark atmospheres and a dreamy, ghostly soundscape. This cinematic inspiration is especially noticeable in the third and fourth tracks of the album, as the band lays down thick layers of hazy turbulence that act as a foundation for Perdoni’s voice–mysterious and authoritative like a female Ian Curtis.
New Frontier, especially, captures something filmic and sepia-toned in its atmosphere–filtered melodies that sound broadcast from an AM frequency over feedback loops that scatter like tumbleweeds in a sonic wilderness. It’s good shit. And the perfect penultimate track–that’s another thing this EP has going for it: It actually feels like an album. It’s a story. The beginning grabs you, ascending action, all that stuff. A penultimate moment that tells you the journey is close to an end. This isn’t a collection of singles–it’s a work, a piece, a composition.
Spirettes feels confident and mature, and is a solid debut by yet another promising Colorado Springs act. Loud atmosphere and catchy hooks define the EP. Listen to the whole thing here, then head on over to Bandcamp and buy the high-quality download (it’s only $3). Spirettes are on Facebook and Instagram too.
