Spangle call Lilli Line
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when i first heard Spangle Call Lilli Line earlier this month, i was definitely impressed, enough to run back through their older discography. coming upon PURPLE was an accident, in that i was song-hopping and fully intended not to stay on one album. the evening turned to night, a rainy one, which was subsequently spent enjoying PURPLE. the atmosphere that the band creates.
this rock band employs downtempo and some jazz-esque elements to deliver an album that is simultaneously cozy and entertaining. i say jazz-esque because there is more focus on tertiary elements and drum and bass here, in that downtempo range, than anything outright rock. this makes PURPLE incredibly laid-back and even a bit sexy. if anything, the small bits of synthetic noise and occasional acoustic guitar do much more to define the album’s identity than any normal means of rock. with the assistance of Kana Otsubo’s sultry, silky, and meandering vocals, the album veers much closer to a late-night basement jazz group.
“mai,” the album’s initial song, feels appropriately like the most up-tempo song of the album. almost as a catch to hook the listener into further listening. an interesting tactic that works. by giving in to expectations up front, the rest of the album, if capable, can ease the listener into their new reality. the song does not reach the highs of the album’s best songs, but feels appropriate in setting the tone. the dreamy guitars and the heavy bass guide PURPLE from rock to jazz, especially with that onslaught of oncoming soft-spoken cymbals.
“sea” is the strongest song of both the album and maybe the band itself. by letting the hi-hat click away in the background, the song self-regulates at a softer tempo. the melodic piano drips off each key like raindrops from a roof tile. like the occasional high whine of frequency, Otsubo is merely a ghostly effect of the song to accentuate the general atmosphere. and by maintaining a clear metronome of mathematical plodding, the song may go on for nearly 8 minutes, almost aimlessly for a while, but never loses its pace or progression. the song is immediately arresting and easily loopable time and time again. to me, this feels like the peak of my experience with Spangle Call Lilli Line. the fusion of sound here is the ultimate atmospheric delineation. whether the song is slowly tumbling its pieces or deliberately engaged, they all feel like part of a flow. a flow at the heart of the album, at the heart of the band. even when reviewing their 2026 release, LULL, i can still feel the echoes of “sea” maintained throughout. an impressive level of cohesion throughout the tenure of a band over many years.
alternatively, “shell for mew” kicks up the verve with more entitled guitar work and tempo through the drums. Otsubo takes center stage, accompanied by some glittering pieces of instrumentation. her voice is a powerful lifeline that keeps the song healthy. on the album, it’s my favorite performance from her. in the middle of minute 3 is just about when i fall in love. it’s when i say to myself, “ah, that’s music.”
PURPLE is an album that takes a slower mindset to enjoy. a rainy day, a chilly autumn night, a black cup of coffee, a glass of red wine. the album doesn’t smash into a new genre or form of music, and it doesn’t beat you over the head with glamour. PURPLE is atmosphere. it lives on it, it dies on it. for all the minute, smaller, in-between tracks, they only bolster the power of the album, rather than detract. “nm,” for instance, is a pure vibe piece. little pieces of record scratch, twangy loose bass work, and strung-tight plucks of guitar air the laundry of PURPLE. it’s not a pivotal track like “sea” and “shell for mew,” but still an important block of the construction.
PURPLE is an album you come to on ITS terms. letting go is an important part of the process. but by doing so, for 52 minutes, you are in for something new, something quietly lasting. PURPLE is not an outright winner, and it won’t leave a deep, immediate impression. but maybe, like me, you’ll find yourself quietly gravitating back around to it. slowly at first, then with fervor. i once took to the internet to feel out the general consensus of the album and found plenty of comments like “this is one of my favorite albums of all time” and “i love PURPLE so much, it’s incredibly underrated” and so on. my initial reaction was curiosity about this tiny subset of people and their vibrant exclamations. as time has gone on, i have an eerie feeling i understand what their words mean. maybe, like the album, it just takes time.
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Highlights
sea
shell for mew
nm
Tracklist
mai
unknown
nm
rio
cast a spell on her
a portrait
sea
shell for mew
early monsoon
when we were
screen
