Photo by Ebru Yildiz

Dreams can set the tone for the day going forward, and so do the days we live inform our dreams. In our current existence where dread and unease loom in every corner, the lines separating our conscious and subconscious selves become all the more bleary. “Careful Let’s Sleepwalk”, the lead single from Activity’s sophomore effort, Spirit in the Room, hears the Brooklyn-based experimental rock band wandering between the two as disconcertion follows just a few paces away. “Bash out my brains,” vocalist Travis Johnson desires with a sunken tenderness, as if the only way out of either dimension is to escape himself. The chilling echoes of guitarist Jess Rees let us know that, for now, limbo holds him captive in his mind as the increasing pulse put into frame by bassist Bri DiGioia and drummer Steven Levine don’t do much to temper any fears. Akin to the ambient noise rock and trip-house ripples of Portishead and Autolux, Activity have tapped into their own plane here where human emotion has a terrifying transcendental effect which makes the reality of being awake all the less clear.

Activity’s Spirit in the Room will be released August 4th on Western Vinyl.