Spookyland released their Rock and Roll Weakling EP back in 2014, but really made waves with the video for the single The Silly Fucking Thing, released the following year. The emotive song showcased just what it is that appeals about the band: soaring instrumentals, polarising vocals, and raw emotion.
Now comes the band’s debut album, Beauty Already Beautiful. The big question is have they lived up to the promise showed on their EP? Well, while there’s nothing as heartbreaking and raw as The Silly Fucking Thing, this LP is really fucking solid.
The opening track, Abuse, kick starts things in promising fashion, with Marcus Gordon’s divisive drawling vocals draped over strings. Nowhereland is a sprawling, unwinding affair, before the single, Big Head, announces itself brashly. This track suggests Gordon is willing to pursue any subject matter that pops into his head, no matter how strange or inappropriate it may seem.
The vocals are again at the fore on Champions, which is undoubtedly one of the album’s strongest tracks. Discipline is a stripped back number, followed by the piano ballad Rebellion, a raw song that builds and builds. By the time track eight, Turn, rolls around it’s ridiculously apparent that Spookyland aren’t worried about making radio friendly songs. Despite this, all of the songs gel together. Sure, each one has an obvious beginning and end, but the record is very much a cohesive experience.
Can’t Own You has a distinct country twang, and the penultimate number, God’s Eyes, unveils itself as the album’s clear standout. It comes closest to matching the raw emotion of The Silly Fucking Thing, and when Gordon belts out the line, “maybe God’s eyes have to blink,” it’s hard not to reflect on the emotive power of those lyrics.
Spookyland have lived up to the promise showed on their debut EP and delivered an album that’s more a work of art than a mere hotchpotch of songs.
BY ALEXANDER CROWDEN
