REVIEW: Spanish Love Songs - A Brief Intermission in the Flattening of Time

An indie punk quintet based in the heart of California, SPANISH LOVE SONGS have slowly but surely been striking their roots into the genre since 2013. And not in vain, as is evident from the scale of artists they get to collaborate with and the wonderful community they continue to build. Their upcoming EP A Brief Intermission in the Flattening of Time is the first new music release since their 2023 album No Joy, achieving exactly what it is set to do - serve as a resting and reflecting point between the past and whatever the future awaits. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful standalone work where every song deserves its own moment of contemplation.

Each track on the EP contains guest vocals from some of the greatest players in the game, and coincidentally close friends of the band - appearing on the opener, THE WONDER YEARS are no exception. Initially Lifers from their album No Joy, this song was later reimagined with completely new melody and lyrics, although the themes still mirrored the original line by line. Thereby emerged and released earlier in 2025 was Lifers Too, stripped back and toned down, making it feel even more devastating than usual. Now for the current variant, SPANISH LOVE SONGS settled for their usual happier tune, although the true emotions could still be felt through the occasional crack in the voice, almost ready to cry any moment. In all three versions, it is about not expecting to live long enough for you to start aging and growing old, and trying to make peace with it after the fact.

The next guest on the bill is KEVIN DEVINE of BAD BROOKS, taking a verse on Cocaine & Lexapro. The song is an instant switch of energy, or rather a total switch off. It is one of the calmest and melancholic points on the EP, which opens it up in its own way, like a sigh under your breath because you do not have any more screams in you to let out. The narrator raises quite uncomfortable topics, being avoidant of their issues and almost egoistic: “I swear I have control of the universe expanding, I try not to think about landing”. Both the depth of the lyrical writing and their frankness certainly remain some of the strongest suits of SPANISH LOVE SONGS as musical artists.

Heavenhead invites along SARAH TUDZIN of a comparatively newer group ILLUMINATI HOTTIES. Both bands have expressed being particularly passionate about this collaboration, saying that the song was begging for SARAH to be featured on it (a notion also shared throughout the whole EP and its guest artists). This track continues to explore the existential terror that inevitably arrives as life goes on, and with it grows the fear that you will soon run out of its blessings. The lyrical narrator also appears to be afraid of finally healing, and instead chooses to fall in love with pain and to keep being hurt over and over again.

Sooner than we would like, the final track Berlin is set to close A Brief Intermission… It features another genre-pioneer band TIGERS JAW, this time not with one, but two vocalists lending their harmonies for the song, even though not originally planned so. Right away, the 80s synths in the signature German style transfer the listener into some other dimension, and also perhaps explain the name of the song. SPANISH LOVE SONGS strike with the most gut-wrenching and open-hearted lyrics once again: talking about fighting with severe issues, possibly related to addiction and recovery, and what is more, no one around you seeming to understand. “They call you brave, but they don’t know one thing about bravery / You spend too long feeling safe, and that’s when they get you”.

A Brief Intermission… might not be as big-awaited a release as typically expected, since the songs have already been gradually coming out one by one. Still, it turned out to be no less important, with the tracks still making sense together in one unit, both musically and of course lyrically. It is a stunning work on both SPANISH LOVE SONGS’ and the featured artists’ parts, and we equally cannot wait to see what big things are to come after this brief intermission.

Score: 8/10

A Brief Intermission in the Flattening of Time will be released on 21st November 2025 via Pure Noise Records.

Words: Mariia Bulkina

Photos: Hannah Gray Hall