Activity Spirit In The Room

Cloudy Clear Vinyl.On their sophomore album Spirit in the Room, Activity is haunted. Haunted by technology. Haunted by the loss of loved ones. By capitalism and humanity's relentless death march towards environmental destruction. Produced by Psychic TV's Jeff Berner, the album is an emotional seance held through an unearthly haze of menacing trip hop, ambient electronica, and synth-based noise rock. The Brooklyn-based four piece of Travis Johnson (lead vocals/multi-instrumentalist), Jess Rees (guitar/vocals/keys), Bri DiGioia (bass/vocals), and Steven Levine (drums) began writing and recording the album during the pandemic, "to keep from losing our minds", as Johnson explains. The inherent limitations of lockdown meant that the band had to strip down the process considerably, relying heavily on processed samples and drum machines to sketch early ideas and begin to process the collective trauma. It was also around this time that Johnson experienced a series of personal tragedies, namely the loss of his mother to pancreatic cancer. "The grief was (and sometimes is) this colossal thing," Johnson explains, "and I kept finding myself thinking of how I could find her or get in touch with her, like there was a phone number or address and I just had to find it." Spirit in the Room is no lighthearted journey, but the band's playfulness and obvious natural chemistry keeps the collection from being burdened by its own solemnity. Their most collaborative album to date, Spirit in the Room ultimately reflects the band's deep anxiety about the modern world while simultaneously displaying their immense gratitude and joy. As Rees describes it, "One moment it's bottomless shearing chaotic noise, and the next it's a sweet melody. Sometimes at the same time." Spirit in the Room is a harrowing journey through a Bosch-like landscape of illness, global capital, and human-caused destruction. For fans of: Blonde Redhead, Clinic, Deerhunter, Broadcast, Portishead, Radiohead.