The new record from Pittsburgh-via-Brooklyn trio Spotlights isn’t for the faint of heart. Even at its most reserved, Alchemy for the Dead carries an undeniable air of intensity; it’s a knotty quasi-concept album that finds a balance between intricacy and crushing heaviness.
Last month’s Seance EP reintroduced the group to the world after the We Are All Atomic EP arrived in March 2020 amidst an unfolding pandemic. These two releases provide important musical context for their latest work, acting as a bridge between their lauded album Love & Decay and its follow-up, which sees Sarah Quintero, Mario Quintero, and Chris Enriquez expanding on a sound that draws on influences such as Deftones, Pallbearer, and Nine Inch Nails, but sets itself apart from its predecessors, partly by design and partly by necessity.
Alchemy for the Dead is out now via Ipecac Recordings and streaming below; to coincide with its release we asked guitarist/vocalist Quintero to break down the whole thing for us, discussing mortality, sincerity, and saxophones along the way. They’re on tour right now; hit their Bandcamp for dates.
1. “Beyond the Broken Sky”
This song is meant to be an introduction to the album. Written on and about a stormy, drunken Brooklyn day, back in 2014, it’s meant to give the listener the feeling of crawling up a roller coaster, but the big drop at the top is just a drop to a beautiful demise, like the explosion of a star leaving more beauty and wreckage in its wake. I’ve been holding onto this song for almost eight years, and I’m glad it finally found a home on this album.
2. “The Alchemist”
“The Alchemist” was the catalyst for not only the beginning of a “theme” for the album, but also the spark for what the overall sonic signature of Alchemy for the Dead would be. It’s a story about a deranged maniac who stalks and murders his victims with the intent to bring them back from the dead, all in hopes of finding his one true love. In my mind this (and other songs on the album) take place in Victorian times, with the visual aesthetic of decorative beauty mixed with dirt and darkness that translates through music.
3. “Sunset Burial”
Probably my favorite track on the album. This song is a journey through the mind of a person on the brink of death, but written from my personal perspective. It encapsulates the fear, regret, hope, and uncertainty one might experience while staring death in the eye. At the same time there’s a calming relief that it’s finally over—there’s no more left to give. It’s time to let go, and go back to where we started. Musically, we really wanted each section to be its own chapter, sonically and compositionally. I love the beat that Chris came up with for the verses. It gives the song so much space to breathe. All the elements are very minimal, and to me it lets the intent of the song shine through. It reminds me of the Faith era of The Cure, which is a high bar for me.
4. “Algorithmic”
This was the first single we released. Although I wasn’t too sure about this song when it first came together, it’s really grown on me. Once I got the mix to a place where I liked it, it hit me and now it’s a favorite. This one takes a turn into the realm of my somewhat cynical views toward organized religion, though it’s pretty vague lyrically. It’s basically a ridiculous take on the struggle between gods and humans, and the naive idea that there will be a heaven filled with friends and family in the clouds waiting for you at the end of this life.
5. “False Gods”
Continuing the theme of blind faith in invisible, bearded men in the clouds... “False Gods” further displays the idea of religion’s exploitation of human weakness, and it features Ben Opie on tenor sax! This was a song that I really wanted to get out of my head. The idea for the overall beat and groove had been hounding me for months, if not years; and I really wanted to have sax on this record one way or another. Once the bass and drums came together it just clicked! I think it shows our intent to not repeat ourselves on this album. The main goal when writing this record was to not make the same record again. I don’t see the point in making a bunch of music that all sounds the same over and over again. In fact, it’s what drives me crazy about most bands these days.
6. “Repeat the Silence”
Rounding out the part of the record dissing humanity for being the worst, this song covers the theme of our self-induced, inevitable apocalypse. Humans are a curse. Caused by our sickening self-importance and need to overpopulate the planet with new humans while there are millions of abandoned and suffering children, just so we can see what they look like. Not to mention the hypocrisy of internet saviors who are in a battle to out-woke each other, while consuming products made by children and eating animals raised to suffer their entire lives, only to be killed and cut into pretty little meat packages.
7. “Ballad in the Mirror”
This song takes us back to more of a fantasy world. A love story about watching the one you love wither away. The initial idea stemming from a classic vampiric story, but placed in a more personal and real-world setting.
8. “Crawling Toward the Light”
This is another idea that was written in 2014 and went through multiple iterations until finally landing on this album. Meant to evoke a beautiful landscape for a terrible situation. It’s a story of a killer who holds his victims hostage, but, similar to “The Alchemist,” he’s doing it for love. He can’t understand their need to crawl away from his torture. Dark shit!
9. “Alchemy for the Dead”
This is meant to be a sort of bookend to track one. Lyrically and musically, it’s probably the most emotional and cathartic song on the album. Dealing with aspects of depression and suicide, it’s a story told form the perspective of a loved one who’s taken their own life. Watching the one they’ve left behind suffer while they attempt to reach the other side, in hopes of keeping a connection to their lost love.
