by Lauren Rosier
If you’re looking for new music to discover, check out Brooklyn’s own rock band, Spirit Animal. The quartet puts on a live show that will get you energized and dancing.
The four-piece, comprised of Steve Cooper (vocals/Moog), Ronen Evron (drums), Paul Michel (bass), and Cal Stamp (guitar), delivered a solid set of guitar-driven rock songs that are properly written and arranged for success.
The band opened the set with the title track from their latest release, World War IV, a 5-song EP that was released in February. “World War IV” is a heavy-hitting, yet catchy track that pulls you in and doesn’t let you go.
The song “Regular World,” perhaps the most radio-friendly, was next. It’s a genre-bending rock track that’s a great opener for the EP and also a high-energy, catchy song for any show attendees who hadn’t heard of them prior.
The lyrics from “Regular World” are confident, but not arrogant. Cooper sings “…I want to be someone / on top number one / but I take what I get and I make the most of it / because I know / I’m not just someone..”
I really despise placing artists into a certain genre, and I hate making comparisons, but unfortunately, music fans want to know about an artist’s sound prior to hearing them. With that said, Spirit Animal has one song [“Front Seat Feelin’”] that could lead a listener to make the comparison to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Besides that one, they have an original sound with clear influences.
One of the later tracks, “The Black Jack White,” kind of confused me in regards to the type of sound they were going for. It had a completely different vibe compared to the other songs; however, I think with that one being an older song, perhaps that might play into it.
The crowd was small, but the people that were there seemed really into the music. I thought the sound was great. I’ve been to a crap load of shows throughout my short life and I’ve seen way too many bands that have their instruments turned up so loud that you cannot hear the vocals at all. For me, the live show is where a fan is made. The balance between the instruments and the vocals were perfect.
Spirit Animal is definitely a band that I can imagine hearing being played on Radio 104.5 alongside alternative rock giants like Twenty One Pilots, Muse, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I definitely encourage you on keeping your eye on this band and go to their show when they visit your city. Something big is coming their way.
