Given the fact that they cite Converge and American Nightmare as influences, feature death-metallers Fuming Mouth’s Keith Goldoni on drums, and enlisted Cult of Luna’s Magnus Lindberg to master their debut album, you might be surprised at how unaggressive Pennsylvania post-hardcore collective Spanaway appears across Songs of Yesteryear. “Terrible,” the lead single from the new record, had more in common with the recent lineage of shoegaze bands citing Hum and Failure as influences over MBV and Slowdive, while its newly unveiled follow-up “Twenty Seven” has more in common with Jacob Bannon’s post-metal side-project Wear Your Wounds than any era of Converge.
Named after the age frontman Zack Van Why was when he experienced “suffering through loss in rapid succession,” the patient pacing and somber acoustic guitar of “Twenty Seven” additionally emphasizes the influence of Elliott Smith in the band’s songwriting, while the lyrical content mines a similarly dark territory. “I’ve always understood ‘Twenty Seven’ as an exploration of loneliness as this ‘meditative purgatory’ through the eyes of my best friend,” co-guitarist Robby Vena notes. “It’s that burning in your stomach as the breeze meanders through the nothingness.”
The single’s rich orchestral sound comes courtesy of a series of collaborations exclusive to the track within the new record. “The coolest part of ‘Twenty Seven’ is that it grew into this big ensemble piece,” adds Vena. “The guest vocalist is our friend Brie Emsee. We were introduced to her by our drummer Keith, as they were coworkers in the restaurant biz. She’s a really prolific solo artist, and we all admire her talent. In addition to that, piano on that track was performed by a childhood friend named Tyler Lyons. Trumpet and trombone were performed by Matt Hull, who we met through [engineer] Zach Weeks. We wanted to take that ‘Converge on Axe to Fall’ approach and put as many friends on as we could.”
Check out the new track below, and pre-order Songs of Yesteryear on cassette ahead of the record’s December 6 release here.
