Paint-splattered white lab coats, a sandy dunes backdrop, and smooth indie rock: A most perfect Spectre Jones Saturday.

The LA-based group recently shot their music video for their new single “Sisters and Brothers”. The band describes the single as a message to the “siblings in this great big human family” as to say you matter. The tune is coming off their upcoming, debut LP Joy in the Morning recorded at the historic Boulevard
Recording in Hollywood by James Krausse (Beyonce, Santana, Nick Jonas, Pusha T).

Spectre Jones has millions of streams since officially coming together in 2018, releasing a string of steady, fresh singles and blessing the ears of their many fans. The group is poised for quite the 2022 and you won’t want to miss it.

We had the opportunity to toss a few questions their way about their background and new video. See below for the full story!

I read the band was formed back in 2018, but the group sounds like you’ve been playing with each other for a decade. What do you attribute the cohesiveness to?

Thank you so much! Most of us went to the same university between 2012 and 2016, and the music scene there was small. So we all met pretty organically, and we were playing together in different configurations for some years before the band Spectre Jones was ever dreamed up. After the past few years of working particularly hard at playing together, we have come to feel like we experience something truly magical when the five of us are making music. We feel grateful!

Your new song “Sister & Brothers” is about coming together. Where did the idea come from?

Sisters and Brothers started out as a song about being in a fight with a friend. The idea was like “Hey, look, you’re like family to me. We can get through this and learn to love and respect each other.” As we witnessed the events of 2020 and 2021 playing out, we began to recognize that the song also spoke to the tense state of things in our society. Sure, it’s a little naive and on the nose, but we felt like the message “we’re sisters and brothers” is one that deserves a voice during times like these. When you peel back all the labels and lenses that dictate and manipulate how we see each other, we really are all just humans. We can love each other better than quick judgments and suspicion. So, to all you siblings in the great big human family–you belong, and we’re glad you’re here. Also, maybe try loving your enemies sometime. Love is a powerful thing.

Where was the lyric video shot? It looked super fun!

We shot the lyric video on a big sand dune that’s literally just called “Sandy Dune.” It’s right off of Pacific Coast Highway, about a mile up the coast from Sycamore Canyon. We had a great time shooting the video together, super fun indeed!

And in case anyone is wondering, cardboard does not work as a sled on sand. Ouch.

Duly noted…

“Sisters and Brothers” is on your upcoming album “Joy in the Morning”, which is your first full length album. What is one thing you learned from your other recordings that you will carry forward onto this one?

A couple years ago, after recording multiple songs one piece at a time in our home studio, we got to record the basic tracks for our single “Nobody Else” together in a big studio space. Because we were tracking live to tape, we had to have the arrangement worked out pretty well beforehand. That was the first time we arranged a song all together as a band and then recorded it together as well. After that session, we were hooked. We learned that when we write and record collaboratively, we not only have more fun, but we get a final product that feels like a fun and lively balance of what everybody in the band brings to the table, something that’s more than the sum of its parts. That feels like the most important lesson we brought into the sessions for “Joy in the Morning.” We feel excited that when people listen closely, they will hear the five of us in a room at Boulevard Recording in Hollywood, exhausted from days of 14-hour-long sessions, working out these songs together, and having the time of our lives.

We cannot wait to hear! Spectre Jones embody the nature of a Deviate perfectly.

Spectre Jones is comprised of Wilson Howard on vocals and bass, Alexa Shafer on drums and percussion, Brett Stratemeyer on synth, Jacob Williams on guitar and synth, and John Lowell Anderson on guitar and synth.

A big thank you to the group for taking the time out of their recording schedule to answer our questions. “Sisters and Brothers” out tomorrow at Midnight on Spotify and keep your eyes peeled for their upcoming album Joy in the Morning.