NYC post-rock quartet Activity has just released their latest single, “I Saw His Eyes,” which serves as the final preview of their upcoming album, “Spirit In The Room,” set to drop on Friday, August 4th via Western Vinyl. The track carries a brooding and otherworldly vibe and is accompanied by a Lynchian-but-jocular music video, creatively directed by the band’s own Steven Levine.
The song draws inspiration from a deeply personal and sorrowful experience in lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Travis Johnson’s life. He shared, “My dad got cancer, and when I saw him next, the treatments had caused him to waste away. He was slight to begin with, and he’d lost like 30 pounds. ‘Hey, under the blinding glare, I’ll meet you there’ is a reference to this book I read called ‘The Great Divorce,’ imagining seeing my dad again ‘on the other side.’ It’s an advance apology for all the times I’ve been petty, short, and cruel with him. But he got better! And he’s doing okay now, thankfully.”
The music video, with its eerie and playful touch, was born from Levine’s creative mind. He explained, “For some reason, I had that image stuck in my mind for the first hit of the song—a blanket being laid over the camera. Then, naturally, I thought about how that could lead in a creepy direction. Then it started to feel silly, and I kind of liked the humorous direction it was going in, so we just went with it.”
“Spirit in the Room” finds Activity grappling with haunting themes, encompassing the impact of technology, the loss of loved ones, capitalism, and the looming environmental crisis. The album’s creation began during the pandemic, leading the band to explore processed samples and drum machines in their early ideas. Johnson’s personal experiences, including the loss of his mother to pancreatic cancer, added another layer of emotional depth to the project.
This album stands as Activity’s most collaborative work to date, reflecting the band’s deep anxiety about the modern world while still showcasing their gratitude and, surprisingly, moments of joy. As Jess Rees describes it, “One moment it’s bottomless shearing chaotic noise, and the next it’s a sweet melody. Sometimes at the same time.” This distinctive blend of emotions sets Activity apart in the noise rock genre, taking listeners on a harrowing journey through a landscape of illness, global issues, and human-caused destruction.
