Lovespirals has consistently defied musical categorization over their two decade history together, blending a dynamic tapestry of jazzy, soulful, and bluesy moods with the band’s classic California Dream Pop vibes. With the new Smile EP, however, Lovespirals’ sonic inspiration comes from a whole new place: South Korea!

Since 2019 the duo have been exploring South Korean music, going down a sonic rabbit hole after hearing the “dark concept” side of BTS. It wasn’t long until they discovered the flourishing Korean Indie scene that’s been overshadowed by the K-Pop phenomenon. The Kozy Pop label, in particular, proved a perfect introduction to more relatable underground indie and home recording artists.

Title track, “Smile,” combines Ryan’s shimmery Shoegazer guitars with a laid back beat, dreamy electric piano, and Anji’s earthy yet ethereal vocals to create a warm and welcoming sound that evokes the sunny beachside lifestyle depicted in the song’s brand new music video. Poppy in the very best way, “Smile,” is a bittersweet confession of the internal sorrow beneath the surface gloss of social media.

With extremely chill vibes and super smooth production, “Why Not Today?” pulls from Lovespirals’ R&B and Soul side with a little Jazz and Blues twist. This melancholic and dreamy song was originally released as a Bandcamp only single in mid 2020. The version here is a new mix of the track that appeared on the both the digital single and music video, but nothing drastically different.

“Down Low” is perhaps the biggest surprise of the release as it’s tougher to define genre-wise. Like the Nutty EP from Kozy Pop, “Down Low” combines distinctly Shoegaze and Dream Pop inspired guitar and vocals with the Brazilian influenced chords and progressions favored by K-Indie, along with a few quirky samples, including a rare vocal by Ryan. His soaring guitar solo could easily have been lifted from an early 90’s Love Spirals Downwards track.

Lovespirals are thrilled to be back in the studio, writing and recording new material after having been inspired by a new pool of talented songwriters and musicians including Colde, Dept, onthedal, Jimmy Brown, Kodi Green, D. Sanguh, and Baekhyun. Look for more new music to come in 2022!