In his newest work since 2019’s We Wanna Be Hypnotized, Scott Kannberg as Spiral Stairs has revealed an incoming album – Medley Attack!! – slated for July 9, 2022. Kannberg is otherwise known as a founding member of Pavement, who have recently released a video and announced a tour. In anticipation and promotion of his Spiral Stairs album, Kannberg has released a single, “Pressure Drop,” and an accompanying music video. 

Watch the video here:

The new album’s genesis followed what Kannberg thought might be his musical bow-out. In a statement, Kannberg said, “I did my last shows in London in 2019, and I had this great show and kinda thought to myself, ‘I don’t really want to play again after this,’ … This is great, this is a good way to end.” Soon after the end of the tour however, Kannberg found himself working on another album.

The road to crafting Medley Attack!! was a difficult one, even though the album became a love letter to rock’n’roll and Kannberg’s friend. Among the major events in his life, Matt Harris – Kannberg’s friend and band member of a slew of bands including Oranger, Overwhelming Colorfast and The Posies – died in February 2021. 

Discussing Medley Attack!! and its ties to Harris, Kannberg said, “So the focus of the album ended up being kind of about my love of rock’n’roll, but also my love of friendship and my love of this guy Matt who was around from basically day one of my solo career… He’s always been my guy that was my bouncing or sounding board – he played on Monsoon the first Preston School Of Industry record – but he’s always been around and I’d always play him my new songs before anyone else. His loss is indescribable, but I tried.”

He also said, “It’s definitely been the weirdest and the hardest record to make, but I think I like it the best, really. I think they’re my best lyrics – they’re pretty dark, but they’re pretty honest and they tell stories a little more than in the past. And originally it was really going to be a stripped-down swan song record – I really didn’t want to get a bunch of people involved – but I ended up getting so many of my closest friends and people I admire to help and I couldn’t be prouder of the results. It’s kind of made me want to make more records!”

Fans can get a taste of the new album with the single “Pressure Drop [End of the Hurricane]” and its playful video. The music video is ultimately a lyric video, with each line pasted into a text bubble to imply the characters (a cheetah and an antelope) are having a conversation. 

The first line is said by the cheetah, and then it switches to the antelope: “It was the end of the Hurricane/And the rain turns to showers/And our love’s just the same/Well the memories, they last for lifetimes/Aren’t the memories just a game we play?”

Medley Attack!! Tracklist

1. “Too Late”
2. “Mole”
3. “Baron Please –> Medley Attack!! [Blitzkrieg]”
4. “Petrified”
5. “Pressure Drop [End Of The Hurricane]”
6. “Hey ’70”
7. “Dry Country”
8. “Time = Cuz”
9. “Slipped Away”