Seattle’s Spiral XP has shared the final preview from their debut album I Wish I Was A Rat (Danger Collective Records), out October 18th. “Window Room” packs skyward melodies and towering riffs in equal measure, bordering on slowcore but without the genre’s downward gaze. Paste Magazine praised the song, writing that the track blossoms “into brightened hues of gazing, augmented distortion.”

“I was inspired to write the lyrics while sitting in an enclosed porch one day and examining the window reflections,” shares the band’s bassist and co-vocalist Lena Farr-Morrissey, “Making plans of nothing and carving out time that is intentionally left blank, I found myself wondering what can bloom from recycled thoughts and memories. On the inside looking out, Window Room carries a longing for being at peace with the unknown.”

Across I Wish I Was A Rat, principal songwriter Max Keyes explores meaning, truth, and value under capitalism. Feeling unmoored by the ambient crush of a culture that prioritizes labor over pleasure, and data points over artistic expression, Keyes withdrew, finding solace in a new passion for songwriting. The resulting 12-song collection navigates late-twenties existential ennui and emerges triumphant, bending feedback-drenched guitars into euphoric new shapes, imbued with the timeless stamp of Pacific Northwest melancholy. 

After a string of promising EPs, Keyes tapped scene veterans Lena Farr-Morrissey (bass, vocals), Jordan Mang (guitar), Kyle McCollum (guitar), and Daniel Byington (drums) to expand his vision on I Wish I Was A Rat, inviting them to augment the songs as they saw fit. “They ended up taking on a life of their own,” he explains, “that’s a little scary but also thrilling to me.” Keyes and the group enlisted producer JooJoo Ashworth (Corridor, SASAMI, Automatic) and decamped to The Unknown, the legendary Anacortes studio Phil Elverum helped construct in an abandoned church.