Spirit Animal

1. It might sound strange, but it takes some serious soul to discover rock music's spirit and an absolute animal to find its superhuman funk.  Luckily, the modern listener has Spirit Animal to turn to for all of the above. The NYC-based band's forthcoming EP, This Is a Test, masterfully melds decades of disparate elements in search of music at its most carnal, anthemic and party-ready. The heavy riffs and pounding rhythms of their psychedelic rock and pop create a sound seemingly from the ether, but grounded in the diversity of four gents who are gifted at the dying art of leaving it all on the stage. Spirit Animal frontman Steve Cooper is a D.C. area-born talent, uncoiling a multitude of skills that go beyond the realm of melodies, production and body sweat into the worlds of cheffing and web content craftsmanship. KCRW calls him "unbelievable" and Last.fm compares his stage presence to that of "mid-'70s era The Who."  Cooper met Spirit Animal bassist Paul Michel in the nation's Capitol in 2002, where the Libyan-born Army brat spent much of his youth.  Michel has toured with a half dozen bands including Georgie James (Saddle Creek Records) and it's his bottom -- he's the best dancer in the band-- that propel This Is a Test into otherworldly realms of low end theory. Upon that astral plane, guitarist Cal Stamp -- aka The Reverend Cal Sharpton -- provides sterling pop sensibility and face-melting solos that recall an era when Guitar Gods were the real Pop Stars.  Battening down the hatches is drummer Ronen Evron, an Israeli transplant by way of the technically unrivaled Berklee College of Music in Boston. The fearsome foursome adds up to an organism with one mission, and one mission only. "Rock n' roll embodies the entirety of modern music's spirit, but you can't have one without the other," Cooper says. "The roll's the part people sometimes forget, and that's sad since that's the party part." The list of influences that Spirit Animal rolls with is expansive, as pieces of familiarity peak out behind a smorgasbord of original ideas.  Their new school nonchalance is balanced by a fervent bombasticism reminiscent of early 90s era Red Hot Chili Peppers.  On the new EP, "Love Crime" blends Cooper's soulful expressions with a bar brawl hook that reflects the most universal of relationships gone bad.  Elsewhere, there's David Byrne-cum-Mike Patton soapboxing over the art throb of "Lead!" and the only thing more trippy than The Reverend's guitar solo on first single "Crocodile Skins" is the forest Shaman enlightenment of the track's music video (shot shirtless in 22 degree weather, mind you). By the time This Is a Test delves into a tried and true na-na-na-na-na sing-a-long (on "WTF"), it's obvious that this band can and does do everything music fans could ask for. Live, the band is at once manic and precise with a non-stop show full of careening solos, call-and-response choruses, and lots (and lots) of the aforementioned body sweat. Spirit Animal have been called an "unmissable live act," and it’s been said their "furious energy and fierce musicianship" are poised to not only stand the test of time, but help the masses re-live it. MUSIC VIDEOS Lead! -- http://bit.ly/andlead Crocodile Skins -- http://bit.ly/crocskins Makin' It Work -- http://bit.ly/makinitwork I'm Around -- http://bit.ly/imaround Broken Paradise -- http://bit.ly/brokenparadise RELEASES TBA 2013 - "Spiritia Animalia" (Second LP) November 2012 - This Is a Test (EP) June 2012 - "Lead" (video) May 2012 - "Crocodile Skins" (Big Black Delta Remix) Mar 2012 - "Crocodile Skins" (single) Sep 2011 - "I'm Around" / "New Man Now" 7" (Mecca Lecca Recording Co.) Jun 2011 - "Transparency Is The New Mystery" -- Marnie Stern (Spirit Animal Remix) May 2011 - "Won't Let You Leave" --- Jenny O (Spirit Animal Remix) April 2011 - "Ladykiller" - White Sea of M83 (Spirit Animal Remix) Feb 2011 - "Won't Let You Leave" -- Jenny O. (Spirit Animal Remix) Nov 2010 - "The Cost of Living" (Debut Full-Length) Sep 2010 - "Decisions" - How to Dress Well (Spirit Animal Remix) Feb 2010 - "Brazen Brand" (Remix/Covers LP -- Fitz & the Tantrums, Jackie Wilson, Beirut, Devendra Banhart...) 2. Groovy hardcore from Richmond. Dashiki Groove Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.