Cocaine & Lexapro The latest taste of music from Spanish Love Songs, called A Brief Intermission in the Flattening of Time, is a guest-heavy, moody and reflective romp of well-written songs. The set was collaborated with producer Arun Bali, and each of these vibrant tracks feature a guest artist/friend of the band. On the key song of “Cocaine & Lexapro” that features Kevin Devine, frontman and guitarist Dylan Slocum shared, “I’ve been trying to work with Kevin for a while now. We have a good number of mutual friends but had never met up until this. The reasoning was simple — our band doesn’t exist without Kevin Devine, so when he agreed to sing on a song, he got to sing on a song. He took what I had demoed as an angry, contrarian second verse and turned it into something delicate and full of pathos. It absolutely floored me the first time I heard his vocal tracks dropped in.” By working with four great artists on this EP, Spanish Love Songs reinvigorate their passion for writing songs filled with uncertainty in the days that lie ahead of us, but with a beating heart of hope that things can and will get better.
”Lifers Too” kicks off the record in an upbeat manner with a nice, driving tempo, paired with a solid bass line from Trevor Dietrich that accelerates to the finish line with some well-placed synths and smooth production. The reflective second verse of, “In a TV-family home from 1963 / There’s marks on the floor from beds where kids used to sleep / But then those kids grew up to give us a world on the brink / And they don’t feel guilty for us, so why do I worry all the time?” is easy to connect with in today’s environment, and showcases Spanish Love Songs ability to convey a wide range of thoughts and emotions in their music. The song features a great guest vocal spot from The Wonder Years’ Dan Campbell, and sets the EP on the right course.
The single of “Cocaine & Lexapro” features a memorable refrain of, “You said a problem’s not a problem till you call it by name / Pilot’s still a pilot till he crashes the plane / I have the self-control of a universe expanding / Who gives a fuck about landing?” and solidifies the feelings of dread that can come from facing the unknown. The guitar-driven song is drenched with reflective lyrics and paired with tight musicianship from the band. “Heavenhead” features Illuminati Hotties and is largely built around some thick synths to get the mood of the track just right. The guest verse of, “Holding onto your hand / Said I ain’t died young, so I guess I’m no good / Yeah, my dad gave me a good life, and I wasted everything I could / You said the pain will find me / ‘Cause my head don’t fit its socket right / Why waste my time with changing? / Baby, that shit’s overrated,” helps with balancing out the song that plays out like a narrative between two people clinging to their last glimmers of hope.
The EP closer of “Berlin” features Tigers Jaw and has no problem with brooding in the darkest of thoughts over some vibrant synths/keyboards to evoke just the right emotions. I found the bridge of, “They’ll call you brave / But they don’t know one thing about bravery / You spend too long feeling safe / And that’s when they get you / Oh, that’s when they get you,” to be very insightful and made me think of the recent horrific news cycles of people being taken away from their families by this heartless administration. There’s something special about the way that Spanish Love Songs can make sense of the insanity that is filled in this cold world, and there’s definitely still a place for this music in our rotations.