Sometimes, things click at the most unexpected moments.
I had been listening to the latest from High Spirits at least once daily for about a week as I geared up for this review. Though I was enjoying it, it just wasn’t quite clicking with me, and I was starting to lose interest. Then, during one morning commute, I had just about had it with sports talk radio’s saturation, overanalysis, and flogging of (not to mention more than a few impassioned listener rants) that whole “old white team owner is a racist scumbag” issue. I had to escape. So I jammed my finger into the ‘play’ button on the stereo, where You Are Here was still there, waiting for me. Instantly, my ears were filled with the delightful sounds of breezy, metallic hard rock. My head bobbed; my thumbs tapped the wheel – at least until they were raised with the rest of my fist in a triumphant salute. Most importantly, a smile crossed my face. It finally clicked.
That’s all a little strange, isn’t it? When a band’s themes include “rocking” and “being in high spirits,” it shouldn’t be that hard. When the listening experience is likened to “cruising Miami in a Camaro during the 80s,” I mean, that just about says it all. They rock like the breeziest of the 70s yet the hardest of the 80s. If yacht rock actually rocked, this is what it might sound like.
I’ll spare you the band’s back story, as the intrepid Andrew Edmunds already did that quite elegantly in his Another Night review. Besides, I’m about as familiar with the particulars as I am with whatever Moribund Records is bringing to the table this week, and trying to pretend otherwise would go against everything that this honest, direct musical endeavor stands for.
The spirit of NWOBHM is everpresent, to the extent that you’re going to find yourself wondering if this is actually some reissue mined from the deepest part of Lars Ulrich’s vault – but it’s possible that the band would have been too cool for him. The tight, quick-picked riffs of “When the Lights Go Down,” the rolling, emphatic bass lines that drive “I Need Your Love,” the mysteriously Judas Priest-esque “Can You Hear Me” . . . they all crackle with an upbeat, optimistic energy that compliments and emphasizes lyrics that center upon the “I” and “me” of these song titles eager to be reunited with the (titular?) “you” of the same. Thematically out of place is the eponymous closing track, which nonetheless ends the album on a note befitting their name. Is it about apparitions flying overhead? Is it about feelings? You’re already asking too many questions – well, I am anyway. When things are this much fun, those things don’t really matter.
Don’t be fooled by the bland artwork, lightweight moniker, and bubblegum song titles. High Spirits rock hard – and awesomely – enough to make you forget all that, and reminds you just how much fun it is to put everything aside for a minute and just enjoy music and all the life it has to offer. Strongly recommended to anybody with ears who likes things, especially if they are fans of teams that play in the American League Central division or the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
