A modest emo band brings their pseudo-fantasy worlds to life.
The mechanical hum of a passing train, followed by the shrill wail of its brakes: the first sounds introducing Forest Spirit, Sun On Your Back's self-titled debut. Already, a choice presents itself: are we arriving at our final destination; or is our journey just beginning? An answer left deliberately blank, no doubt. Forest Spirit, Sun On Your Back has the illusion of a linear narrative; in reality, there is little chronology to its tangled timelines. The synthesis of ancient history, whimsical folklore, and modern social commentary provokes too many questions for my mind to digest. So, I petitioned the album's puppet master - a cheerful college sophomore - for an interview to discuss their newborn enterprise as Forest Spirit, Sun On Your Back, as well as their ambitions for the future.
As it turns out, Forest Spirit didn't know many of the answers to my interrogation either; but they did concede that Forest Spirit, Sun On Your Back is a metamorphosis: the dissonance between the first note played and the last note retired is unmistakable. Nor is this disparity fleeting. Piano ballads yield to caustic guitars, which often capitulate to noise after becoming ungovernable by tempo. The chainsaw-like riffage tears flesh, laying bare the tender, fragile skeleton underpinning its brazen exterior. There is little balance, little pacing, yet its rush of bottled emotion is undeniably organic.
Meanwhile, Forest Spirit's paranoid vocals bury themselves deep within the mix, clinging to the melodies in desperation. "Strange new hearts hooked up to strange new lungs, give me up, give me up! Cause I can’t give it up anymore", they implore in a bout of helplessness, no longer recognizing themselves in disgust. Their struggle is only relieved in the penultimate track, when they come to terms with their imperfect existence, "Heaven will know your name but all the water comes to the surface, why would you hurt this, keep it the same". It's vulnerability, shame, and a conflict of identity observed not only in the lyrics; the instruments - all individually recorded by Forest Spirit at their home - each have competing agendas, ripping the songs apart limb from limb. Painful, but exhilarating; the train is off the tracks.
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1MD: What’s the story behind the cover of the album? Did you draw it or was it someone else?
Forest Spirit: The illustration is from a manga from the 70s called “Street Performer”, and I thought it captured the spirit of the music I was making. I mean it being a mermaid fits in with some of the ocean imagery I have in the album and the dominant emotion of looking out and feeling stuck in general.
1MD: It’s pretty visceral, the cover. To me it looks like a mermaid bleeding out in a bathtub because her tail has been cut off. Like a disfigurement of identity or something.
Forest Spirit: Oh there’s blood?? You might be right. And if it’s true that it is blood then that’s what I meant, of course.
1MD: ...is there a progression throughout the album that you want to convey?
Forest Spirit: I think there's definitely a journey. But it's not a literal, textual, explainable journey. I think one thing I had to find myself letting people down on is that a lot of the lyrics are more imagistic than anything else rather than explicitly about a thing.
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It's not a coincidence that Forest Spirit's music has enamored self-proclaimed critics such as myself with their D.I.Y. approach. It's a tried and true formula to embody a homegrown aesthetic - characterized by lo-fi, saccharine production - to a point where the genre is oversaturated with amateur impersonators (who often receive unwarranted critical acclaim). Read any comment referencing Forest Spirit, Sun On Your Back and you are bound to find a mention of indie-rock celebrities such as Car Seat Headrest or Weatherday, who are attributed with founding the style. Their doppelgangers have little humility, much less imagination.
Luckily, in this case, the copycat presumption falters; I confess when it concerns the supposed architects of musical melodrama, I am immune to their siren call. In my humble opinion, Car Seat Headrest is the most overrated band of the 21st century, and Weatherday - while considerably superior - has never hooked me the same way Forest Spirit, Sun On Your Back has consumed me (for lack of a better word). The experience is still parallel to its forebears, but they never intersect: two sides of the same coin, but vastly different in execution. In a way, Forest Spirit, Sun On Your Back is my own Twin Fantasy.
Not to say Forest Spirit doesn't wear their influences on a lengthy sleeve, and they admit regretting not pursuing a less prevalent methodology; but to me, my unprecedented fondness of Forest Spirit, Sun On Your Back is compelling evidence that its allure is not derived from piggybacking, but rather from outright songwriting talent and individuality.
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1MD: Biggest influences on your sound?
Forest Spirit: Yeah. Weatherday’s the big one. I think I ate Weatherday’s style a bit too hard with this release and some of the music may have suffered but Come In is an album that I'll always love. Car Seat Headrest, on the other hand; I used to look a lot like Will Toledo and I still kinda do so I promised myself I will never get into that band. I can’t afford to be a ripoff.
1MD: ...I actually interviewed a small skramz group last week called Crochet, I don’t know if you know them.
Forest Spirit: Oh yeah! I’ve heard of them. Yeah, most of the online DIY communities I'm in are vaguely skramz-centered. Godfuck had a huge hand in getting me into skramz.
1MD: Is skramz your go-to genre or is that not your style?
Forest Spirt: No, not really. Lately I’m more into weird indie-folk and music my dad listens to.
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After speaking with Forest Spirit, I would say they possess an infatuation with all things obscure, which explains the occult charisma that piqued my interest. Throughout the album, they have craftily snuck their classical expertise into each song: The track Yerach Ben Yomo cites a cantillation mark that appears only once in the entire Torah; Last Waltz At Enkomi is set in a lost Ancient city in Cyprus; Crisscross, Charon references the Greek messenger of death. It's just one example of how being book-smart is commensurate to being an excellent musician (a common trend I have noticed).
While Forest Spirit coalesces their mythos from a broad range of sources, they don't neglect the customs of their own upbringing either. The Appalachian mountains are full of beauty, but also of tradition and local legend; from the Bell Witch to Bigfoot, the opaque forests of America's Eastern spine offer endless superstition. As such, Forest Spirit has never strayed far from the Appalachian's craggy peaks. While naming their band, they had a desire to pay tribute to their enduring presence and history. Hence, Forest Spirit, Sun On Your Back serves as a musical manifestation of Appalachian folklore; a séance of sound that transports listeners into its tenuous world of magical realism.
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1MD: I don’t think I’ll pursue Latin in my career. But I think what I love about Latin compared to other languages is that it’s more about the analysis than it is actually learning the language.
Forest Spirit: Yeah it’s super fucking cool. I'm mostly interested in languages of the Bronze Age but generally what I love about ancient language learning as opposed to modern languages is that: first of all you don’t have to worry about fluency or talking to native speakers because they tend to be dead; and also the fact that it allows you to read, and unlock ancient knowledge and just look through texts and see, ‘Oh, people were actually speaking! And communicating back then!’ and so it’s always going to be a passion for me.
1MD: I see your love for ancient history and classics coming through in the titles of your songs. Is there any connection to the music itself or is it just left-field historical references?
Forest Spirit: Yeah! For example I'd say Didn't They Name A Crater On Mercury After Me is written from the perspective of the poet Cai Wenji, and some of the lyrics are interpolated from Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute attributed to her. And Azaleas is also thematically based on the poem of the same name by Kim So-wol..
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In the short term, Forest Spirit is composing a fresh album that they claim will be less Weatherday and more Forest Spirit, Sun On Your Back. With only one live concert under their belt - which was streamed to their YouTube channel - Forest Spirit's rockstar pilgrimage is still in its infancy. However, Forest Spirit seems to have planted himself within a selective crowd of budding artists who are tactfully infiltrating online communities with their music; some of the artists I adore Forest Spirit knows personally, such as fan favourite Turquoisedeath. Forest Spirit is staying busy: inaugurating a presumably prolific record with Forest Spirit, Sun On Your Back which - poltergeists and archaic allusions aside - is worth every minute of its 40-minute-flat runtime.
To answer the question posed in its initial moments: Forest Spirit may have just arrived on the emo scene, but their journey has only just left the station.
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Thank you for reading
i don't think the mermaid is bleeding
Wow, so insightful, but does Mr winkles know you wish not to proceed in Latin.... Haha, nice article