Albania Away, the latest six-track E.P. from the indie rock/alt/pop trio The Spiritual Leaders is a wild, colorful and vibrant musical ride perfect for our depressing and isolated times.
We are thrilled to have been introduced to this young, relatively new band from the town of Cavan, Ireland, a heavily Catholic region that aligns the southern border of Northern Ireland.
Overflowing with bright energy-driven guitars, bass, keys, and drums, Albania Away puts out so much sound that it’s understandable if people think they are a full-fledged collective rather than a trio.
Together with vocalist and guitarist David Reilly, multi-instrumentalist Fergus Brady (guitar, bass, keys) and his brother Cathal Brady on drums are a force to reckon with within Ireland’s always evolving indie scene.
The album starts off with the terrific “Picture on the Wall,” a track that catches the listener’s attention and keeps her captive through the entire three-minute indie gem. The band also shot a music video for the track featured above. The single was featured on BBC Radio One in March, giving the band a nice little boost.
RIght on the heels of the hit-friendly opener, the song “Fatten The Calf” is another fantastic romp. It’s new-wave leaning, hip-hugging bass-heavy vibe grabs the listener from start to end.
The bassline carries the song and according to the band it was the seed for the rest of the song that followed. That makes perfect sense.
“We wanted the drums and bass to lock in to create the groove so that it becomes almost danceable,” Brady remarks. “We wanted the keyboards to create an ambient vibe” he adds referencing Blondie’s song, “Atomic” as a strong influence.
“We had a spiky guitar over the verses that we discarded as we felt it interfered with the bassline, and went for a dreamy delay sound on a Boss multi-effects pedal.”
“Lyrically the song is a warning against the excesses of capitalism. It’s quite a left-wing song I suppose! ‘Fatten the Calf’ is a metaphor for excess.”
Things change up again with the high-tempo, Krautrock-driven punk-pop track, “You Know Me,” which has a dystopian vibe together with Sex Pistols-styled vocals and discord.
The instrumental, jam-heavy “Bell Jar” is an upbeat, jangling guitar pop number with a melody that is impossible to turn away from. After a minute in, the listener is expecting the vocals to come up, but they don’t for a minute and a half into the five-minute track. Reilly’s vocals are understated and yet perfectly fit for this sunny day indie pop track.
It’s fitting that there is less than one-minute of vocal work here allowing the thick bassline and the happily flowering guitars that make “Bell Jar” a standout track.
Right now, we all need some upbeat, optimistic songs to make us feel better about the troubled world outside.
Next, the melancholic ballad “Temporary” is the most sublime track on the E.P. stripped down to just an acoustic guitar and Reilly’s pained vocals.
“This one took us a long time to get right,” Brady said. “Dave had created a home demo with Barra McGuirk with just acoustic guitar, some electric lead guitar, subtle bass, and some synthetic strings.”
With the demo in hand, the band went into the studio to record the full band version of the song but “then realised that the original home demo was better. That’s the version you hear on the E.P.”
Following “Temporary” is the ambling, rolling guitar picking track, “Underwater With You,” featuring booming bass and percussion as a backdrop for the wonderful guitar playing from Brady that seals the greatness of the E.P.
Finally, the moody electronic of “Underwater With You” is nicely placed as the last track of the E.P.
“The circular guitar riff underpins the song,” Brady comments. “We wanted the song to have a dreamlike glistening feel and so spent a lot of time getting the right delay effect.”
Producer Rob Newman (Therapy?, Pet Crow) added the electronic drumbeat in the studio. “Initially, the plan was to just have these electronic beats in the outro, but when we heard them throughout the song we knew that that was the right arrangement. Our singer Dave wanted to sing a vocal that was clear and fragile and tender at the same time… I think he did a great job.”
Lyrically the song is about growing up and settling down Brady adds. “There is a crazy world outside the door of your home,” Brady said, “but when you come inside this is the place where you can be in your little ‘underwater world’.”
This is the second release from the band following a self-titled 2012 debut album. A product of the vibrant Origins music scene in their native area, the original four-piece line up came together in 2010 through “a shared love of indie and alternative rock.” The band’s influences include Neil Young, Bob Dylan, the Pixies, Radiohead, The Smiths, Joy Division, and Radiohead.
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