There is a wonderful immediacy and urgency driving the latest single from SPIES, not for them clever intros or slow-burning builds; no, BAM! They just get straight down to business. You have to admire their economy. And once we are on the move, we are carried along by a glorious wave of sonic verve.
Like much great music, it is the blending of genres and styles that gives “When Lightning Strikes” its signature sound. It’s sort of pop-punk but swerving that overused groove that became so predictable when the genre was in the hands of the ’90s fratboy fraternity. Erring on the lighter side of alt-rock gives everything room to breathe. It is too unselfconscious to fit with the modern indie sound and so unashamedly accessible that it can show the pop realm a thing. SPIES have managed to take only the good stuff from each genre and avoided the sonic baggage. It is a glorious mix of all that is great in contemporary music.
“When Lightning Strikes” is brilliantly unexpected, which, given the song’s theme of the spontaneity and unpredictability of life, makes for the perfect merging of music and message.
It’s been far too long since they dropped “Playing With Matches”, but “When Lightning Strikes” shows us that not only is SPIES back, it is back with a vengeance.
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