SP’s – Photo
SP’s are a rollicking, eccentric garage-rock outfit with a decidedly snotty Left-wing slant. And with their debut EP Rise/Fall, which comes out March 1st on Baby Robot Records, they aim their sonic battering ram straight for the Halls of Power.
From its breakneck opening snare roll, SP’s EP is a lit fuse that ends up as a cannon ball-blast from the bow of a battleship fighting against the reckless and dangerous issues of our times. Engaging in manic diatribes, the band’s caustic songs decry nationalism, the ruling class, toxic masculinity, gun violence, propaganda, revolution, and divide-and-conquer politics.
The band is comprised of lead vocalist Steve Albertson, guitarist Steve LaBate, bassist James Holland, and drummer Allen Kronenberger. They all been in previous music projects that have gained them acclaim in media outlets like Paste, Magnet, Alternative Press, and PunkNews.
For Rise/Fall, SP’s teamed up with engineer Dylan Ely (The Coathangers, Ministry, …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead) at L.A.‘s Portia Street Studio. Rise/Fall blends ’80s and ’90s punk with elements of modern garage and psych rock, but it’s part of a songwriting tradition that goes even further into the past, drawing a line straight back to Woody Guthrie, whose bold anthems for the marginalized and working poor would become the backbone of political punk, from The Clash, Subhumans, and Crass to Downtown Boys, Against Me!, and Pussy Riot.
The Big Takeover is psyched to host the premiere of a track off the EP, the catchy and dynamic “Elegy”. The pushy, bouncing tempo and Albertson’s sardonic vocals create a restless agitation that doesn’t let up, even when more reflective spoken vocals appear in the mix near the end of the song.
Albertson explains the meaning behind “Elegy”‘s lyrics, which can be found below the song stream:
““Elegy” has to do with the idea of legacy and my lack of belief in an afterlife. I’m an atheist, anarchist and artist. I live to create. I want to make as much art as I can before I die and leave behind a collection of songs, stories, films and games. Maybe someone will care. Maybe not. It doesn’t matter. Each day that we’re alive is a gift and we should take advantage. Some people want to travel, others are happy sitting home and playing video games, some just want a beer with friends, but me, I want to always be making things, and I’m most happy making things with my friends—writing and recording this song with SP’s for example. After we’re dead, we’ll live on in the memories of friends & family and in the art we leave behind to put our tiny mark on this small planet in this massive universe. We’re all pretty lucky to be here in the first place.”
Lyrics: “Elegy”
Don’t take anything with you, but what is left behind?
We only have this time to contribute to mankind
The days are short. When we die do we sign away our life?
Let’s pretend we’re young and go play outside
Bring it down to my level
Equalize the bass to the treble
Bring it down and I want out
Everything we’ve done destroys our self doubt
Bring it down to my level
A deal with god or a pact with the Devil
Bring it down and I see you
The crook with a key / a spiritual preview
Hold me close or let me go
Life’s a ride and then I die alone, we all die alone
Hold me up and build my tomb
Spent decades howling at the moon to prepare my room
Yesterday’s a memory, tomorrow’s a mystery
Today’s a gift to give to all those close to me
Makers make and cowards flee
I worry daily about my legacy
Bring it down to my level
Flesh, muscle, brain, more than a vessel
Bring it down and I want out
Life’s too short for creative droughts
Bring it down to my level
Summon our strength to build our temple
Bring it down and I see you
Assemble my library as my statue
Hold me close or let me go
Life’s a ride and then I die alone, we all die alone
Hold me up and build my tomb
Spent decades howling at the moon to prepare my room
“to have grown old in so many mirrors,
to have sought in vain the marble gaze of the statues,
and to have seen nothing, or almost nothing
except the face of a girl from Buenos Aires
a face that does not want you to remember it.”
Built worlds with words now let’s all play together
Stories and songs 86 birds of a feather
Create of a body of work and loves left behind
Family and friends display our secret sign
