Smoke Spider – Desolation (2022)
For approximately one year, The Other Side Reviews has been keeping its virtual little eye on Smoke Spider – and we love every second. From our review of their single ‘You’re Wearing Me Out’ to ‘Linger In My Memory’, the Swedish duo have turned our heads and captured our hearts. Yet, we are not the only ones singing their praises. To date, the band has featured on YMX, Sinusoidal Music, and iHeart Radio (to name a few). The latest addition to their well-received repertoire is ‘Desolation’.
Meeting each other during the 1990s, then coming together to create music in the 21st century, Smoke Spider is bringing old-school rock to modern-day audiences. Following the track ‘Linger In My Memory’, the pair release a hard-hitting hard rock sound in ‘Desolation’. Hitting you with powerful guitars and pounding drums, ‘Desolation’ immediately tips you into a sonic whirlpool with lots of bright lights flitting across your face. Add Göran Florström’s gruff vocals and the grunge of the melody is almost palpable.
Touching on the topic of freedom, relief and release on an existential level, ‘Desolation’ is that big sigh where you move from stressed to calm. Smoke Spider explains that the song is “…about finding an exit when your whole being is screaming for relief and redemption and you’re looking for that wormhole in reality’s web through which you’ll get to that somewhere else-place where the pain that’s keeping you on your toes will die down and let you put your naked feet to the ground.” In all honesty, I think this is a highly relatable concept as we live in a stressed, uncertain world.
Profound and poignant, but with a tune you can jump about and scream along to, ‘Desolation’ has an intense intimacy that speaks to all audiences. It reaches into your gut, draws out the grimy despair and frustration, and then sends your soul soaring as you find beautiful serenity.
For more from Smoke Spider check out their Instagram and Spotify.
