SPACESHIPS-Ruins

As the world has shifted from the place of imbalance and uncertainty to our “new normal” with regards to COVID, we are starting to see art that was not only produced during that liminal period but that also tackles the social experience of that time. Consider last year’s Kevin Williamson penned slasher “Sick.” The plot was based around the contentious question of masks/no masks. Iceage released the new track “Lockdown Blues” on their outtakes album Shake the Feeling that dropped last fall.

While both projects have merits, they were less than successful. The problem is that they were too on the nose. I don’t know if it was because there hadn’t been enough time to digest the pandemic effects and translate them into art. Or maybe they just picked low-hanging fruit that was never going to bear great results. Either way, I think the world is ready to see and hear good art that reflects not only the events of those turbulent two years but also addresses the lasting wake we are living in. Enter Indiana post-hardcore dreamgaze band SPACESHIPS.

SPACESHIPS’ new album Ruins, releasing this Friday on Friend Club Records, was written and recorded during the early years (dear god) of the pandemic. And its themes reflect the extreme polarization our culture experienced during that time as well as the aftermath we are still reckoning with today. Lockdown gave the band carved out time to write. Unlike previous SPACESHIPS efforts, Ruins wasn’t a full band live recording. However, single tracking each musician and various parts allowed them o create something intricately layered and sonically complex.

Like any good post-hardcore album, the bulk of the tracks are long. Two of them over seven minutes in length. Understanding that this is a trademark of post/gaze bands, longer does not always equal better. Certainly these kinds of recordings require the listener to be in the right mood.

For example, I don’t always want to listen to Godspeed You! Black Emperor. But when I do, my desire to hear thirty plus minute songs goes white hot. I may even hypothetically buy up a significant portion of their discography on vinyl, only to suddenly lose interest. It may be a few months or even a few years before I dive into them again. I know I will. Just not right now.

Ruins isn’t like that. The songs are lengthy, for sure. And they require time and emotional energy to digest properly. But the album is so richly complex and thematically deep that you want to give it the time. Ruins is heavy, both musically and thematically.

And the dramatic themes are aplenty. Just like the disparities between people which were uncovered through the pandemic, SPACESHIPS bravely and with no shortness of vulnerability expose some of the deepest divides that came from our collective trauma. If you have lost relationships with friends, family members, or church folk because of the choices made since the onset of this international nightmare. Or if you are sickened by scathing partisan-politics and abuse in the name of religion, then you will find solidarity in Ruins. These last few years have been hell. And as we painfully dig ourselves out of the mess, Ruins brings honesty, catharsis, and justice to some of these feelings.

Lead single “Spillt” (featuring vocals from Holy Fawn’s Ryan Osterman), touches on how our inability to control our words has destroyed relationships. The brutal guitar beats laced with open space and overlayed in synth reflect the heaviness of the lyrics.

The standout track, for me, is “Measures.” This narrative-focused track confronts the way that “Christians” have hurt others in God’s name. It asks the question “God you are good, but according to who?” Frontman Nat Fitzgerald confessed he almost left it off the album because of the backlash it might create. I can imagine this will rile some people up, especially if they realize the finger is pointed at them.

Additionally, the track uses expletives to create tension. But these moments are not for the sake of useless shock. They come out of a desperate feeling of exhaustion for the way things are and asks a hopeful question of the way things could be.

Swearing in art influenced by faith has created controversy. P.O.D. famously dropped the “‘f’ bomb” then bleeped it out in one song on 2012’s Murdered Love. Tooth and Nail band Civilian and worship adjacent band King’s Kaleidoscope also got some pushback for their use of swearing. In these cases, as with SPACESHIPS, their use was for a purpose. Which calls to mind a famous Tony Campolo quote:

“I have three things I’d like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don’t give a shit. What’s worse is that you’re more upset with the fact that I said shit than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night.”

Tony Campolo

It’s my hope that people listening to Ruins will be more outraged by the stories behind the songs than they are about the use of certain words. Certainly when it comes to “Measures,” the world would be worse off without this song. It will stay at the top of my best song playlist for 2023, guaranteed.

On Ruins, SPACESHIPS wear their influences proudly: Thrice, Deafheaven, and Isis to name a few. But at the same time, none of it is derivative. That is to say, it doesn’t sound so much like any of those bands that you could just listen to them. Instead, you have the product of accomplished and dedicated musicians who are exploring the landscape of our current world through the soundscape of post-hardcore, dreamy, shoegaze, and offering up something new, refreshing, and deeply emotional. Follow SPACESHIPS on Facebook and pre-order Ruins HERE.

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