The progressive rock band Spylights are gearing up to release their EP The Empath, and along with that, there is the title track. The emotion-provoking song does more than deliver heartfelt lyrics with complimentary vocals, it has substance musically.
Empath is a slow burn of a build up. The soothing bass, steady drums, and light guitar work make for a somber entry. The final act takes the personality of the track from something shy into a confident statement. The transition is not jarring, it fits and flows naturally.
Vincent Giovanni’s voice has a delicate balance between a deeper voice, but able to reach higher notes without sounding too whiny or annoying. To my surprise, he has quite a powerful voice to go with the powerful song.
Giovanni’s lyrics symbolically and literally get his message across about empathy. Visually memorable lines like, “I’d shout it to the top of my lungs directly into the flames of hate.” While other words take a blunt route, “Then we could move on like a civilized human race / Instead of letting the media control and fuck with your mind.” Nothing feels too cheesy or too reminiscent to other songs about the same subject since so many rock bands write songs about similar topics.
Spylights have a great jump start to their band. The bar has been set quite high, so the rest of the EP has a lot to prove to beat the title track.
The Empath comes out May 10. You can pre-order below:
Pre-order: The Empath
Keep up with Spylights on Facebook and Bandcamp.
Image via Spylights
Tristan Zelden 