Spirit & the Cosmic Heart
You read it here first: The Aleph conceived by Jorge Luis Borges where the cosmos and the soul intersect is in Lakeland, Florida. Not necessarily in the shadow of Publix HQ but somewhere east of Tampa along I-4. It is easy to believe that something as grand as Spirit and the Cosmic Heart could not arise in Polk County, but the proof is in the music.
“We say Lakeland, but the truth is, we’re from even smaller towns that most people haven’t heard of,” Spirit vocalist and guitarist Joshua tells PureHoney. “Growing up, people had this ‘escape plan’ to get out of here — and while most of us have broadened our horizons, I think it’s special that we are here now.”
Cofounded with his brother Daniel on bass, and fleshed out as a sextet with guitarist Dewey, multi-instrumentalist Dallas, their cousin Matt on drums and Melody on vocals and guitar, Spirit and the Cosmic Heart is deep shoegaze illuminated by alternative pop.
Think of Spirit as a lofty idea with pragmatic execution. If they were their hometown’s big employer, their feel-good commercial would show a company manager looking abstractly towards the evening sky, Spirit’s “In Heaven” playing ambiently. Their latest EP, “Dreams,” is a melodious nocturne in four movements.
Recorded at home and mixed by Ryan Haft, “Dreams” is an exploration of the subconscious self — and a springboard for the next EP, “Memories,” due at the end of this summer. On stage, Spirit excels at taking the recorded blueprints and gluing interludes throughout to create an aural live experience and to conduct jam session-prototyping for new tunes. It’s all part of a deliberate supply-chain process of a band in no rush to explode and jump to a music capital that flatters them more. They would rather get it right.
“Coming from a place that most people might consider uninspiring is kinda beautiful to me,” Joshua says. “That’s been a motivation in the back of my mind for some time now. It’s not necessarily about ‘where’ you’re living, but more about ’how’ you’re living; I kinda love it.”
Spirit and the Cosmic Heart plays 8pm May 31 at Voltaire in West Palm Beach with Canvas Kid, InMotion and Rose Dickeson. spiritandthecosmicheart.bandcamp.com ~ Abel Folgar
