Negatives is the sophomore album from Amsterdam two-piece Spirit Valley – officially released August 4th by Fuzz Club Records. Incessant and totally fuzzed-out at times, sublimely ethereal and cinematic at others, this duo capture all sides of the broad spectrum of modern psychedelia as it stands today and deliver it with brilliantly sprawling songwriting and a relentless DIY attitude.
At its darkest, Spirit Valley’s expansive, primal psych-rock falls somewhere between the fuzzed out rock’n’roll of The Black Angels and the warped synths of Moon Duo but ‘Negatives’ is an album that constantly wrestles its way between light and dark. In Spirit Valley’s lighter, more cinematic moments – such as lead singles ‘Waiting For Real’ and ‘TNNLVSSN’ – we’re instead hit with a beautifully crushing wall of noise that recalls the gravelly croons of those second-wave post-punk bands (see Interpol or Editors) and the glacial new-wave/almost-gothic synths that could have been plucked right out of the 80s.
Lurking behind Spirit Valley’s fuzz-heavy guitars and tribal percussion is a ceaselessly DIY ethos that’s seen them play continuously across the globe, in spite of being such a new band. A few years back they bought a one-way ticket to the US with no plans, booked shows or contacts whatsoever. After some chance encounters with like-minded musicians in LA they ended up getting hold of a beat-up 1984 Chevvy ‘Gladiator’ which they spent driving around the US playing as many as shows as they could wing. A couple of months later and they’d clocked up over 25 shows across Texas, Arizona and California and a bustling reputation.
Spirit Valley is comprised of Dave Tomlinson and Chris Stabback and originally hailed from Sydney before moving to Amsterdam a couple of years ago. Upon moving to Europe, and following the release of their debut LP ‘Give trance A Chance’, the band booked an extensive six-week tour of mainland Europe. In between the number of US, EU and Australian tours they’ve also played shows with the likes of Metric, The Murlocs, Acid Mothers Temple and much more along the way.
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