A concrete, thick pour of feedback can help cover up the deficiencies of an otherwise unremarkable song. Everyone knows this. It's why shoegaze bands proliferate in many DIY scenes like bad decisions after bar close. But when there is something worth chiseling through that coarse stratum to retrieve, the extra effort makes the candy core, once reached, all the more delightful. Seattle's Spiral XP is just that kind of shoegaze and they prove it on their engaging EP It's Been a While. Shaving off the slowcore of their earlier release, the band has tuned up a kind of rough and tumble, Pains of Being Pure At Heart-esque soft rumble style powerpop that is as twisty as it is toe-tapping. They produce the kind of noisy, articulate, and rushing romp that resembles the trembling aches of having the wind in your face as you coast along the gutter on your skateboard on a blustery day, a highlight reel of your past triumphs and humiliations rotating in your mind- leaving you both directed and confused, and further, unsure if you're tearing up because, at that moment, you feel alive, or because you're almost certain that you're going to die alone. One of the things that Sprial XP demonstrably has going for them is their strength in writing emotional, hooky tunes, but it's almost as impressive how particularly colorful these songs come across as well. Each track is like a mane of static-collecting peels, unify around the spiral currents of their brash, concerted pounce, the hooks lunging forth like a frilled lizard bursting through a bouquet of tropical flowers in a cork-screw motion to snap a piece of brightly colored confection from between your own loosely biting teeth. Tuff-textured grooves intertwine like the conduction-resistant coated guts of a ticking time bomb, with the payoff of each melodious wind-up being just as consistent and kinetic as the analogy implies. If you are looking to level up your sneaker-surveying game, Spiral XP might just be the wild patch upgrade you've been waiting for.
