Spun Out
Mia Joy
The Hideout
October 24th
Spun Out / all đź“· : Mark Morrissey
The post Ne-Hi era continues with three quarters of the group moving on to form Spun Out. With the help of friends from around the city, Spun Out has created a super group that takes Mikey Wells, James Weir, Alex Otake, and adds Sean Page(Mantra Blues), Nic Gohl(Deeper), and Jake Gold(Creepy Band). Gohl could not be at the performance as Deeper is out on tour, but he played the first show back in August at the Empty Bottle. The group features Wells on vocals adds acoustic guitar, tambourine, and maracas, Otake on drums, Weir on keys, Page on synths, Gohl playing bass, and Gold on guitar. Little is known about Spun Out’s music and the exact direction that they are planning on taking. The only released track from the group is a self-titled song which was released with a video, so the best way to see what the group is up to is to catch a show.
Mia Joy began the night accompanied by Joey Nebulous on keys and Jordan Nelson on guitar. Joy and crew started out with some softer rock songs that can be found on her EP, Gemini Moon. Stripping the songs down to the bare essentials, Joy focused on the meaning and importance behind her lyrics. As a treat for herself, Joy wanted to do a cover and decided upon The Cranberries’ “Linger.” Then the group moved into more of the dream pop that Joy has been working on. “Heaven Forbid,” which was released as a single, has this “dark ambient” sound which Joy describes. Joy puts down the guitar for these songs and locks in the with the audience while she sings and dances.
Playing only their second show, Spun Out is already finding the groove and coming together as a collective unit. With a group of players synonymous with the Chicago music scene, and hopefully an album on the way, Spun Out will soon be carving out their own lane. The self-titled, trippy pop song the group first released to announce who they are and the type of music they will be putting out is not all of which the group is making. There are moments of funk, rock, and just bouncy fun music. Though “Spun Out” is the only song release yet, the group gave an unfinished intro. Spun Out focused more on “newer” songs which have not yet been released. According to set lists on stage, the group has about eight more songs made up. A few that stood out in particular were “Another House” for James Weir’s keyboard playing, “Running it Backwards,” which showcased Jake Gold’s guitar play including a wonderful solo, and then to close out the set, the group played “Pretender” which has Mikey Wells at his peak and driving home the song as he repeats the word, pretender.
Spun Out play at the Empty Bottle on Dec 6th. Tickets are $12.