SPOTLIGHTS

It's an idyllic pursuit for artists to create something that's truly singular. Most eventually put their own spin, to whatever extent, upon the work of a few leading figures in their respective scenes. That's why it's so refreshing when an act like SPOTLIGHTS emerges. It only makes sense, then, that the trio — husband-and-wife Mario Quintero (guitars, vocals, keys) and Sarah Quintero (bass, vocals) along with drummer Chris Enriquez — caught the attention of Mike Patton and his label Ipecac Records who have been spurring them on since the 2017 release of sophomore album "Seismic". (Prior to that, they were championed by another notable heavy hitter, Chino Moreno, who caught wind of the trio's 2016 debut "Tidals" and subsequently brought the band out on tour with DEFTONES.) Setting aside the reverence of scene veterans, SPOTLIGHTS' fourth long player, "Alchemy for the Dead", furthers its ever-improving marriage of melodic beauty and metallic heft while delivering a loose concept that explores the inevitable reality that we all face, death.

SPOTLIGHTS is not easy to pigeonhole in terms of genre. The band taps into bright and dark energy via its cross-pollination of "metalgaze" (or heavier shoegaze"),  synth pop, post-metal and alternative metal. "Beyond The Broken Sky" opens the nine-song album with soaring, soulful vocals sitting atop a massive, down-tuned riff in a way that brings to mind JESU. "The Alchemist" instantly showcases the unit's considerable depth and dynamics with its trip-hop styled beats which reflect a John Bonham-esque beefiness, alongside Sarah Quintero's rumbly, bottom-heavy bass.

"Sunset Burial", arguably the album's highpoint, follows up. Mario's vocal lines, running in tandem with a playfully lurching buildup, are as bright and catchy as anything in the realm of pop-laden heavy music. As the song rises to its metallic, punching crescendo, drummer Chris Enriquez brilliantly reigns everything in in a way that's direct in impact while also being suggestive of something more intense by virtue of his restraint. And we are only three songs in at this point.

Deeper into the album, SPOTLIGHTS peppers "False Gods" with Ben Opie's noisy and frantic tenor saxophone, recalling KEN MODE's recent use of the instrument. Elsewhere, "Crawling Toward The Light" bounces with an addictive beat that sounds like a bridge between the alt rock of mid-nineties SMASHING PUMPKINS and the pop and metal fusion of TORCHE. And finally, the title track rounds out the album with a lulling acoustic guitar and synth movement that somehow sounds ominous and yet uplifting. Prior to the explosive metallic crashing that wraps up the song, there's an undeniably spiritual and compelling quality to the song and its lyrics.

This grand finale is more dramatic and darker than the vast majority of death or black metal in the deepest sense. But there is intentionally a thread of hope and positivity embedded within the bleakness. SPOTLIGHTS is a perfect example of beautiful, melodic heavy music that isn't afraid to break the mold. "Alchemy For The Dead" is one of a kind, and so is SPOTLIGHTS.