Can Spiritbox match the success of their debut? Hold our beers, say the Canadians, as they bring turbulence (and a little tinkering) to superb and often superior follow-up.
Let's face it: for sheer impact, it would be nigh on impossible for Tsunami Sea to possess the same gut punch as Spiritbox’s debut album, 2021’s Eternal Blue. Heralding, as it did, the emergence of a breakout force in metal that, lest we forget, didn’t actually play a show in the UK until 2022, it set them on the road to becoming the stars of their generation.
While the past years have seen Spiritbox participate in not one but two collaborations with rapper Megan Thee Stallion, and the internet go wild for the clip in which Courtney LaPlante is mistaken for Poppy by a hapless red carpet interviewer and goes along with it, it’s also offered sufficient time for Eternal Blue to offer up its imperfections.
For all its exceptional moments, Spiritbox’s debut felt safe and relatively refined when compared to their two EPs that followed, particularly 2023’s The Fear Of Fear, which showcased authors with itchy feet. What Tsunami Sea lacks in the out-of-the-blue brilliance of Eternal Blue, however, it more than makes up for with a listening experience that’s been crafted to perfection – fuller and more feral when it needs to be, while featuring touches that deepen and diversify things without going left-field for left-field’s sake.
Evidently, the Canadians’ priority is perfecting what they do well – from the stampeding riffs (Black Rainbow) to the intoxicating atmospherics (Tsunami Sea), from the venomous vocal attacks (Soft Spine) to the electronic flourishes (Crystal Roses). But when Spiritbox go into experimental mode – as on the jittering, dubby No Loss, No Love – it’s done judiciously and with refinement, which serves to increase its clout.
Tsunami Sea can’t lose, really. If you loved Eternal Blue, this is the record you’d want to hear next, on which Spiritbox, empowered by confidence, go bigger and (occasionally) stranger. If, however, you felt Eternal Blue wasn’t quite bold enough, then strap in for something choppier.
Verdict: 5/5
For fans of: Gojira, Architects, Parkway Drive
Tsunami Sea is out on March 7 via Pale Chord in partnership with Rise Records. Spiritbox play Download Festival on Sunday, June 15 – get your tickets now.
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