“If the sincerity [of] the final chorus doesn’t quite find salvation, then it is at least enough to push the needle back to agnostic doubt, where nothing is ever set in stone, and the possibility of wonder remains.” That’s how we described ‘The Second Coming’ from Spelling Reform’s previous LP, Stay Inside. The album positioned the Philadelphia band—that’s Mark Rybaltowski (drums), Tom Howley (bass, vocals), Jim Gannon (keys) and Dan Wisniewski (vocals, guitar)—alongside indie rock stalwarts such as The Weakerthans, their songs arising from a period of grief and uncertainty with an undented compassion, be they exploring chronic illness or a difficult relationship with organised religion. The single therefore epitomised the entire record. Compassion not as some absence of uncertainty, but rather because of its perpetual presence.
This month sees the band return with The Real Giving Up, a brand new album which sees Spelling Reform continue this mission. “It’s late-30-somethings making a big record because there’s no reason not to,” as the album notes describe. Like so many of the current crop of records, the release was born amid the confusion and loneliness of the opening wave of the pandemic, though Wisniewski and co. look to burn through such emotions, be it with acoustic tenderness or a newfound volume and heft.
The duality is captured by two of the early singles. ‘Wasn’t Everything Great?’ offers brightly infectious sound (“You’re still showered in light / At least something is right” as Wisniewski sings), while ‘Just Like Me’ opens altogether darker, with a brooding intensity. But true to the Spelling Reform aesthetic, the song ratchets up the energy to shake free from under this weight to realise a big cathartic finale.
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The Real Giving Up is out on the 20th October and you can pre-order it now.