In the run up to the release of Tsunami Sea, both Mike Stringer & Courtney LaPlante have confirmed this is not only a sister album to Eternal Blue, but also a concept album in itself. Coming off of the back of one of the most hotly tipped debuts in some time was also going to be a daunting task. Wisely Spiritbox chose to bridge the gap with the Rotoscope & The Fear of Fear E.Ps respectively. Broadening and expanding their sonic palette and preparing the listener to enter the world of Tsunami Sea.
This is a challenging record. Not only to listen, but also to try and review in any real meaningful way that doesn’t feel like you are doing the album a disservice. Many have and will go on to praise this album on the merit of its music alone. Compositionally it’s a very impressive record. But to boil the album down to riffs, vocals, etc, is to not fully lean into and embrace everything it is trying to show you.
Tsunami Sea, much like the majority of Spiritbox’s output, centers around struggles with identity, anxiety, depression & a myriad of other things related to one’s mental health. When you know that going in, the album takes on a new dimension. There are moments here of jaw dropping world building, hidden meanings, callbacks & motifs that dip in and out of the albums densely layered narrative, backed up by the music that propels it forward. The entire album is structured in a way that mimics the movements of the sea, with moments of calming serenity suddenly disrupted by violent earth shattering heaviness.
When you dig under the surface and hear the title track, A Haven with Two Faces, Soft Spine, and Deep End are all connected by the sound of a crashing wave running through them. They represent the side of mental health that gives you the illusion of being in control & embracing who you are.
No Loss, No Love, Perfect Soul, Black Rainbow offset these by being the more chaotic elements. The feelings of hopelessness, anger, frustration and not being able to understand what is happening to you. Take Black Rainbow as an example of this. Modulated vocals represent something artificial and subdued bolstered against the more frantic, desperate pleading vocals. The idea of being medicated vs screaming for help.
Courtney plays both parts very well. She has a greater sense of control over her vocals on this second outing. Weaving a web through the gamut of human emotions. Ear searing screams one minute and ethereal melodies the next. Josh Gilbert, the band’s bassist also takes a spot in the vocal booth, adding even further depths to an already well woven emotional tapestry.
Even the albums opening track Fata Morgana, the title of which relates to an inverted arctic mirage presents the listener upfront with the idea of is any of it real or none of it? There are so many more moments to be found throughout the album of references to other works. Themes mirrored in the album artwork and music videos that are further revealed here. To dig any further into these in this review would deprive you of discovering all the album’s secrets for yourself.
The theme of isolation is very present throughout the album. With references to an island being made sporadically. It has been said that the island is representative of the one Mike & Courtney lived on. The isolation they felt living there, as well as a force pulling them back to it. In the context of the album it also bares many other forms of significance.
From a musical standpoint this is a much more confident album than Eternal Blue was, so much so that it makes that album sound & feel like a first draft sketched on a napkin in comparison. This is much more than a collection of 11 songs placed together. Tsunami Sea is a singular, focused work of art that demands complete and total immersion from the listener. If you give yourself over to this album and have a good pair of headphones you will be richly rewarded.
Much like what Code Orange has done on their previous two releases, Spiritbox has created and built upon a world of their own creation. You can listen to the music alone if you wish to, but to fully invest yourself in this multi layered, multi release world, which now has this additional piece to the puzzle feels very special indeed.
Spiritbox are not a band who create art for art’s sake. Tsunami Sea is a painstakingly crafted masterwork that is drenched in atmosphere, vivid imagery and chaotic catharsis. This is the sound of a band going full bore on a vision and sticking the landing at every turn. The first essential album of 2025 is here.
Tsunami Sea is out now via Rise/Pale Chord. For more information on Spiritbox head here
