There are songs that entertain and there are songs that carry with them a feeling that is more real, more important, more needed. Spirit Box is undoubtedly a part of the latter category, as it is a means of communicating with that which we cannot directly reach, be it the afterlife, suppressed trauma, or even parts of ourselves that we have lost over time.
The first thing that hits you about Spirit Box is the restraint that has been exercised in it. When minimalism is the norm in the world of music, Love Ghost has taken the road less traveled by and has decided to go back to the roots of music by reducing everything to its bare minimum. The piano is the heart of the song, its melody is emotional and makes the song a contemplative space that is both personal and vast. This is not background music, it is foreground emotion and it needs your attention and presence.
The vocals are ethereal in a plaintive way that is beyond performance and it is the sort of raw vulnerability that can only be achieved through actual experience with loss and longing. It has got a certain ethereal quality to the way the voice floats above the instrumental base, as though the singer is straining across some ethereal barrier.
Love Ghost has established their name by not being afraid to address trauma and mental health issues, and that is what "Spirit Box" does as well. The confessional quality of the lyrics makes it feel like the artist is inviting the listener into a special place where painful realities can finally be unveiled.
The simplistic rhythm of the song also gives all the emotional complexity the space it needs to breathe, culminating in a dramatic finish that is less of an ending and more of a breakthrough. What makes Spirit Box work is that it knows sometimes the best communication occurs in half-tones instead of full-tones, in silence instead of cacophony, in openness instead of chest thumping.
