Jefferson Hyll - Spirits (2024)

On the opening track, “Radial Days,” it’s a call to act together on an ultimate adventure, with optimism above an alt-rock synth track sustaining the energy: “when the sun comes up we will jump headlong.”

“Beautiful Place to Stay” is a reflective song: “after soaring through the sky you come down to the night with your compass in your hand, do you have a beautiful place to land?” In “God Plays Rock and Roll” the question is posed: “can you hear me drumming in your soul?” and there’s some U2 influence in this one, especially in the soaring choruses and the keys sounds. It feels like you’re on a big stage, listening to this one especially.

In the title track, the refrain is a plea coming from frustration: “spirits calling out from the dark, what else do you want? I have given everything I’ve got.” In “Mr. Harrison (for Jim Harrison)” there is reflection on mortality, communing in nature, and looking for ultimate answers: “Climb the mountain at dawn, and I called to my mother, in the night she’d gone… I believe in resurrection, tell me a story I won’t forget.”

This album is an alt rock album with a gentler side, as the expansive choruses evoke big wide open spaces. Sometimes you can hear a little heartland rock with echoes of Springsteen too, except it’s more keys than the chimes (but you’ll think of the chime sounds in “Born to Run”). All songs were produced, mixed and mastered by Jefferson Hyll.