'Rude' awakening: Spiritual Cramp channels San Francisco’s restless rebel spirit on latest LP
Much like the migratory diaspora that brought the sounds and styles of Jamaica to the cobblestoned alleyways of midcentury UK, San Francisco has long been a melting pot for free radicals and creative refugees fleeing the confines of mainstream expectations to coalesce into a thriving counter-culture defined by pushing back against the status quo. Spiritual Cramp are emblematic of this ethos, and their latest LP, Rude, is a product of San Francisco’s modern street culture and a celebration of the unique diversity, inherent vices, and unmatched beauty the City by The Bay has to offer.
The band’s early releases found Spiritual Cramp adopting a stance that tracked like a head-on collision of Talking Heads’ obtuse arthouse cool and the revolutionary dub-punk rhythms of The Clash, scraped off the sidewalk out in front of Thee Parkside and doused with Fernet into a uniquely potent cocktail of pure attitude and dangerously magnetic cool reflective of their San Francisco origins. The band steadily expanded their sphere of influence on 2023’s self titled LP, embracing a kind of rubbery buoyancy and pogoing propulsiveness that quickly found them in close proximity to weirdo-punk maniacs Viagra Boys and power-pop co-conspirators White Reaper while maintaining a unique identity still largely informed by the fashion-conscious, rabble-rousing ideologies of 1970s UK rude boy culture.
Rude sands off some of the harder edges and direct references to the band’s immediate influences, but in doing so makes room for Spiritual Cramp to find space for their own identity to flourish in between, like tenacious vegetation working itself into the cracks and cavities of the hard paved surface of the urban landscape. Building on the muscular blitzkrieg of their self-titled LP, Spiritual Cramp lean hard into big guitars and driving rhythms, embracing a more straightforward approach as the core pillar of Rude’s rock n roll circus.
The undeniable energy of lead single “At My Funeral” rips hard with chunky, angular riffs like a Queens Of The Stone Age jam that trades macho overconfidence with self-aware cynicism. “Young Offenders” bops with youthful exuberance and the infinite possibilities of a sunny day, and the full-throttle cadence of “Go Back Home” burns rubber like a Honda CB tearing down the street in pursuit of endless adventure on the open road. “I Hate The Way I Look” barks with unhinged ferocity, clawing away at affected mannerisms and innate traits in pursuit of truth and authenticity buried beneath layers of passing fashions.
Despite the more rocking direction taken on Rude, 2nd wave ska is still a crucial part of Spiritual Cramp’s DNA, taking point on the dubby slow burner “Violence In The Supermarket” that blends round basslines and chiming riffs into a disorienting atmosphere of ultracool menace prowling the everyday environs of city life strapped with a switchblade, eyes alert and ever-ready behind polarized Wayfarers for an outburst of the unexpected. “Crazy” and “New Religion” adapt those classic sounds in a more modern direction, inflecting a 2 Tone accent on driving indie rock frameworks, triangulating coordinates to uncharted territory that the band comfortably makes their own and that fits as neatly as a favorite pair of cuffed 501s.
Navigating the off-ramp from young offenders to semi-stable adulthood is challenging, and “Automatic” continues the band’s recurring theme of willful self destruction and the inability to kick the habit of an all-consuming addiction to the chemical highs of a rock n roll lifestyle. It’s a heavy track, celebrating temporary pleasures and shrugging off looming repercussions in favor of another round of bad behavior. Spiritual Cramp enlists Sharon Van Etten on “You’ve Got My Number,” a brilliantly realized ballad of star-crossed lovers on the cusp of emotional maturity, living parallel lives on separate tracks ever so slightly out of alignment. The tragic romance is palpable, like gazes locked across Polk Street before disappearing independently into the passing crowds, only to be left with a lingering sensation of unexplored futures that fade under the buzzing neons and foamy pints of another warm San Francisco night.
Home, like true love, is hard to find. Across the high-voltage dynamism and thematic heft of Rude’s tracklist, San Francisco stands as the center of it all, an idealized representation of the city where so many poets have left their hearts amidst the narrow alleyways and radical inclines. It is a city that breeds creativity and progressive ideologies, forever beckoning restless souls to find, or lose, themselves in the fog.
Rude is available now on Blue Grape Music. Stream the album on Spotify and follow Spiritual Cramp on Instagram.
Upcoming Shows
NOV 6 - New York City, NY - Rough Trade Below - tickets
NOV 19 - Bruxelles, Belgium - Forest National
NOV 20 - Paris, France - Zenith Paris - La Villette - tickets
NOV 22 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - AFAS Live - tickets
NOV 24 - Cardiff, United Kingdom - Utilita Arena Cardiff
NOV 26 - Glasgow, United Kingdom - OVO Hydro - tickets
NOV 28 - Manchester, United Kingdom - Aviva Studios
NOV 29 - London, United Kingdom - Alexandra Palace
DEC 1 - Köln, Germany - Palladium Köln - tickets
DEC 2 - Frankfurt Am Main, Germany - Jahrhunderthalle - tickets
DEC 3 - Hamburg, Germany - Sporthalle Hamburg - tickets
DEC 6 - Stockholm, Sweden - Avicii Arena - tickets
FEB 17 - San Diego, CA - Soma Side Stage - tickets
FEB 18 - Phoenix, AZ - The Rebel Lounge - tickets
FEB 20 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada - tickets
FEB 21 - Austin, TX - 29th Street Ballroom - tickets
FEB 22 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall - tickets
FEB 24 - Atlanta, GA - The EARL - tickets
FEB 25 - Nashville, TN - The Blue Room - tickets
FEB 27 - Washington, DC - The Atlantis - tickets
FEB 28 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg - tickets
MAR 1 - Philadelphia, PA - PhilaMOCA - tickets
MAR 3 - Boston, MA - Sinclair Lori H - tickets
MAR 5 - Montréal, QC - Foufs - tickets
MAR 6 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace
MAR 7 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop - tickets
MAR 8 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall - tickets
MAR 10 - Minneapolis, MN - Turf Club - tickets
MAR 11 - Kansas City, MO - recordBar - tickets
MAR 13 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theater - tickets
MAR 14 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court - tickets
MAR 16 - Portland, OR - Polaris Hall - tickets
MAR 17 - Vancouver, BC - The Wise - tickets
MAR 18 - Seattle Hill, WA - Nuemos - tickets
MAR 20 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall - tickets
MAR 21 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom - tickets