Activity have released “I Saw His Eyes,” the final single off their forthcoming album Spirit In The Room, available August 4th via Western Vinyl. Activity’s Travis Johnson explained the song’s sorrowful inspiration: “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, and imagining seeing my dad again ‘on the other side.’ An advance apology for all the times I’ve been petty and short and cruel with him. But he got better! And he’s doing okay now, thankfully.”

On Spirit in the Room, Activity is haunted. Haunted by technology. Haunted by the loss of loved ones. By capitalism and humanity’s relentless death march towards environmental destruction. Johnson (lead vocals/multi-instrumentalist, formerly of Grooms), Levine (drums), Jess Rees (guitar/vocals/keys), and Bri DiGioia (bass/vocals) began writing and recording the album during the pandemic, relying heavily on processed samples and drum machines to sketch early ideas. It was also around this time that Johnson experienced a series of personal tragedies, namely the loss of his mother to pancreatic cancer.

The band’s most collaborative album to date, Spirit In The Room ultimately reflects the band’s deep anxiety about the modern world while simultaneously displaying their immense gratitude and—believe it or not—joy. As 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 dichotomy seems to set Activity apart from their peers in the noise rock world. On the one hand, Spirit in the Room is a harrowing journey through a Bosch-like landscape of illness, global capital, and human-caused destruction.

pre-order Spirit In The Room by HERE