Space Raft: Positively Space Raft

Milwaukee’s Space Raft’s latest album, Positively, has served as a life raft of sorts for the last couple of months while we have been cast adrift by the tumultuous waves of COVID -19. With days spent in isolation and monotonous repetition becoming routine, it has served to soothe the mind and body in equal measure, both injecting a dose of sonic adrenaline and allowing the mind to escape into a metaphorical Econoline van hitting the road. 

The band’s third full-length offering, following 2014’s Space Raft and 2016’s Rubicon, builds upon the band’s previous foundation and offers up an exciting metamorphosis, that enables the sounds to lift off out of the American Midwest and break past the Kármán line. And while their past albums have always sounded great, the level of production on this latest installment absolutely pops. 

With the album art paying homage to the James Gang’s 1970 album Rides Again, a subtle reminder that the band aligns themselves with rock ‘n’ roll sounds of the 1970s, the opening moments of  “Tomorrow Today”, indicate that a time rift may have opened up. Combining past influences with modern flourishes, the results are truly refreshing. 

“Please Be Kind”, a plea for kindness and decency, serves as an anthem anticipating better times amidst the dumpster fire of 2020. Organs swirl around the band’s thrilling work out and frankly, Jordan Davis has never sounded better. The track begs a dozen or so listens before moving on to the rest of the album.

“Eyes on The Sky” is next out of the gate and cements the fact that something special is afoot with this album. The opening build-up cross-pollinates The Cure’s “Push” by way of Big Star.  The song’s collision of light and dark perfectly displays the world’s current state by way of a big chorus and infectious rhythms, which sculpt the band’s tale of optimism amidst a global warning, declaring, “Eyes on the sky, Earth is upside down. Pick us up and we can turn it around. Though the hour is half past midnight on the doomsday clock, get your ass in order. Tick-tock.”

“It Used to Be Love” conjures recollections of a relationship gone wrong, a heartfelt declaration where questions still remain long after the changing of the seasons. Musically, with its woozy keys, and colorful melody, recalled memories of seeing Jordan perform in one of his former outfits, Montreal’s The Sunday Sinners. Sonically the song seemed to bridge the gap between Space Raft’s more muscular rock n’ roll signatures and the Sinner’s psychedelia infused soul & Motown inflections.

The band seeks reprieve from mental strife with “Transit Trash”, making a plea for the simplest of remedies, the open road with no destination. It’s a song that would have gotten some serious play at a time when piling into your friend’s car and hitting the road was the answer to everything. It’s propulsive rhythm and momentum pushing forward through life’s obstacles. The dust settling in the rearview mirror, getting kicked back up at every chorus. Some songs are meant to sing along to.

“Living it Up” offers a reminder that while getting your house in order, emotionally speaking, might seem like an endless process, each new day does offer new light over past shadows. It’s a song that would have stood nicely with Chris Bell’s “I Am the Cosmos”. It’s one of the more tender or confessional moments with “Ups and Downs” playing its sequel of sorts and accepting the by-products of love lost, preferring the dysfunction over nothing at all.

As the title suggests, “Freeway” calls for the open road, but reminds you to self-check before taking off. Sinister and satisfying it bleeds seamlessly into “Test Flight”, the album closer that ensures the Positively Space Raft experience ends, well,  positively. With imagery of “Looking up with eager eyes on the way to new horizons” and “Friendly skies”. The process of moving your way through life’s more complicated obstacles of the human condition does have closure and this album is a great companion for that ride.

The disappointment felt by many Montrealers following Jordan’s departure from Montreal back to Milwaukee has proven to have been for a greater good. It’s clear that with his current bandmates, TJay Christenson (Keys), Tyler Chicorel (Drums), and Jon Heibler (Bass), Space Raft have tapped into a certain chemistry that every band strives for. There are new horizons in the future for fans of Space Raft, and I recommend you get on board and buckle up.

You can buy/ stream the album here:

For an even more retro style take on the album, Space Raft has also created an 8-bit version of Positively that you can buy/ stream here: