It’s not an easy task, songwriting. It’s tough to piece something together in a way that resonates meaningfully with someone else. And that’s just the beginning. After the writing is done, artists too often get usurped in the ever-lasting struggle between image vs. content \u2014 and let’s face it, image only lasts so long. But content? Content has no expiration date.<\/p>\n \u201cMusic is and always will be number one to me,\u201d Oh, Spirit’s co-lead singer\/guitarist Ian Owen told me. \u201cThe image always takes a back seat to the songwriting, in my opinion. I understand the importance of looking like you belong on stage, but if what you have to say once you get up there isn\u2019t worth a damn \u2014 then I\u2019m out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve been exploring the possibility of wearing hats,\u201d deadpanned the band\u2019s other singer\/guitarist Ryan Ward Combs.<\/p>\n Their debut self-titled EP, however, is no joke. Set to be released on April 18 at The Irenic<\/a> on an all-ages bill that includes hometown folk-rockers The Silent Comedy (celebrating the re-release of their first album on vinyl) and the aforementioned Barbarian \u2014 Oh, Spirit\u2019s first batch of studio-released material is, in one word, incredible.<\/p>\n Indie pop\/rock can be a crowded genre, and it only grows more tired and mediocre by the second, but the band\u2019s five lads (which, besides Owen and Ward Combs, include bassist Jesse Bowen, drummer Tyler Ward and keyboardist Simon Griffith) have risen remarkably above the din with songs that cook up equal parts Wilco (dueling guitar work), Neko Case (offbeat song structures) and Big Star (instantly memorable melodies) into a thick, hearty gumbo of good, old fashioned rock. If you were to ask the band though, you’d be hard-pressed to find common ground where influences are concerned.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are zero bands that all of us love,\u201d drummer Tyler Ward said. \u201cThe sound of this group is what happens when all five of us come together.\u201d<\/p>\n Even though they’ve been playing shows around town for the better part of two years, the forthcoming EP is the first entry in their (hopefully long) discography. The album\u2019s six tracks have certainly benefited from the extended gestation period. Each one sounds like the best individual parts of four or five other songs, all painstakingly assembled over months \u2014 like the band ran through tape after tape of ideas, cherry picked the catchiest sections and stitched them together like surgeons \u2014 songwriting surgeons, if you will. And it seems that communal effort has paid off.<\/p>\n \u201cI think having everyone\u2019s input on the songs and how they are arranged changed them drastically,\u201d Owen explained.\u00a0\u201cI was able to write and know that the other parts would be written by everyone in the band rather than trying to write everything myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Recorded entirely \u201cin living rooms,\u201d according to Owen, the album was mixed, mastered and engineered by their bass player, Bowen (who also plays in local alt-country powerhouse Blackout Party). Despite (or because of) their DIY approach, the record has a gloriously warm tone \u2014 the kind you find when placing an old, beloved LP on a trusty turntable: Electric guitars bloom over fleet-fingered chord progressions while the frontmen trade off on precision-cut solos; Griffith switches between piano and organ, lending a swirling backdrop for Bowen’s rollicking bass and Ward’s imaginative drumming on songs that stray far from routine pop music formula.<\/p>\n Ward Combs and Owen also split vocal duties on the songs, with the former\u2019s tender (yet sure-footed) delivery countering the latter\u2019s lighter, airier tone (always joking, when asked who has the better voice, the singers rang out in unison: \u201cTyler\u201d). It’s one of the more alluring qualities of the group\u2019s sound and even they understand that boasting multiple writers and vocalists is one of their strengths.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom a listener’s stand point, you don’t get tired of hearing the same band,\u201d Ward Combs said. \u201cThere’s more of a shift between styles and perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Owen, it\u2019s also nice from a personal angle: \u201cIt takes away some of the pressure too. If I don’t have a new song to work on one week, then usually Ryan does and vice versa. I also find it really inspiring working on Ryan’s songs as a guitarist.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"webtop\"](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/webtop.jpg\")
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<\/a>Maybe having so many active hands in the pot has also contributed to their debut\u2019s delay. And playing shows for years before having an actual product to give audiences? Some might call that a waste of time and energy. Or shrewd marketing. Regardless, the songwriting surgeons of Oh, Spirit have also pieced together that tried-and-true fact: Quality always trumps rushed quantity.<\/p>\n