SPIRIT WAS - Heaven's Just a Cloud (October 22, 2021)

Another album coming October 22 from the LVL UP camp (Nick Corbo), releasing on the same day as the new Trace Mountains album.

From their Bandcamp:

When his primary music project, LVL UP, stopped working together in 2018, prolific multi-instrumentalist and illustrator Nick Corbo began working on a new body of music and visual art as Spirit Was. On his debut studio album Heaven’s Just a Cloud, haunting, beautiful scenes of the natural world feel just as represented in the warm, classic, wooden floors of country rock as they do in the dark, droning, shadows of doom and black metal.

With new creative liberties, Corbo is allowed an opportunity to keep exploring the heavy, distorted instrumentation and experimental techniques that have shaped his music to date. His ability to focus on small details and weave them into vast networks has been evident in all of the music and visual art in his catalogue. In its density, Heaven’s Just A Cloud is threaded with memorable lyrics and recapitulating musical themes that guide the listener.

Spirit Was feels at home among the technical, melodic songwriting of Harry Nilsson’s studio recordings, or the dusty, psychedelic oblivion of Earth and Wolves in the Throne Room. A departure from his previously collaborative recordings, the album features Corbo on drums, bass, guitar, and keyboards, weaving sweet, intentional melodies and vocal harmonies over a slamming, distorted rhythm section.
credits
releases October 22, 2021

Written, arranged, performed and produced by
Nick Corbo
with Z Santos (voice),
Rashaad Jones (cello)
& Griffin Koelbel (synthesizers)

Recorded by Matt Labozza
Mastered by Edsel Holden

The first single is a pretty interesting combo of psych rock, slowcore, and blackgaze with a really well made video to boot:

 

sick track

 

the end of this track really is something

 

funny, with all of the other lvl up projects announced I was wondering about nick’s.

love this

 

This is being released on the same day as the Trace Mountains album, right? Great day to be a LVL UP fan hahahah

 

nick was always my fave of the group. can’t wait.

 

been wanting this for awhile. sweet!

 

also, thought you’d all get a kick out of the custom pedal that he made me for my brother in law in Seattle. Such phenomenal work.

 

Nice!

 

Where the eff did the second half of that song come from. I had to check I was still listening to the same band.

 

he definitely hinted at black metal fandom in lvl up. i wouldn’t be surprised if songs like five mdb on the ridge or naked in the river went this route if not for dave and mike probably not enjoying it

 

Lets go

 

This rules

 

fire song

 

oooooohweeeeeee this one's really really great

 

i've waited for this record for a lifetime it feels like

 

Good song! I saw on the track list there’s a song called “Spirit Was” is this gonna be a cover of the LVL UP version? He seems to really like that name haha

 

that’d be cool since it’s the best song on that LP

 

One of the rare songs that my wife likes just as much as me lol

 

Reminder that this is out today

 

and it is incredible

 

this record is extremely cool, I need to spend a lot more time with it

 

nick rules