There is something of a layered aesthetic to Double Wish’s single “Spirit Away.” It sounds lo-fi in its production and mix but maximalist in composition. The simple, even spare, percussion anchors the song to a forward progression and the smooth bass accents help to set that pace as well with the repetitive acoustic guitar riff almost like a sample that sets an unmistakable vibe and in this case like a noir set in one of the seedier pockets of early 2000s Los Angeles. Maybe a psychodrama about people grinding and striving to stay afloat and snatching small bits of joy where you can get it while holding on to some dream of creative or otherwise professional success but not quite knowing if it’s going to be there for you. It has a sound like a future Paul Thomas Anderson film set in that milieu where landlords don’t update the décor or the infrastructure to their rental properties since the 1970s or earlier. There is an AM radio feel to the song though the songwriting style probably wouldn’t quite have been possible until the early chillwave artists established and made successful the style to introduce then no longer au current sunny and hazy synth sound to an indie rock format that embraced and furthered experimental R&B styles. What sets this song apart from similarly mutant neo-Laurel Canyon sounding work is the way the soulful vocals sit and float amid gorgeously shimmering synth arpeggios that ascend seemingly endlessly like an escalator into the sky. When the song is on the outro we hear what sounds like a computer repeating the title of the song through a radio on in another room to give a mysterious touch to a song that already sounds like something from another era having emerged in modern times without the obviousness of retrofuturism. Listen to “Spirit Away” on Spotify and follow Double Wish on Instagram.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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