The Devil Makes Three’s Spirits is a spellbinding mix of foot-stomping rhythms, soul-stirring storytelling, and their triumphant return after a seven-year hiatus since the 2018 Chains Are Broken release. Spirits is a celebration and a reckoning. Each song unfolds like a parable; interconnecting striking imagery and hardscrabble truths to portray loss, addiction, and resilience. Musically, it reflects Americana’s lively spirit, blues’ melancholic essence, and folk’s grounding nature. Each genre contributes to Spirits’ testimony of the pain and perseverance that define the human experience.
Spirits‘ defining theme centralizes grief. The title track depicts a profound sadness underlined by an overwhelming weight of loss. The song’s repetition of “too many spirits” emphasizes an overpowering presence of memories and unresolved emotions. There is an apparent inability to find solace amidst loss, as this was the reality for frontman Pete Bernhard. In the press release, he mentions losing his mother, brother, and closest childhood friend while recording the LP. Indeed, the lyrics “The place where you used to laugh / Is empty now / Standing vacant / Hollowed out” reflect a deep yearning for the departed.
The Devil Makes Three use the term spirits for its double meaning. Noticeably, the lyrics in “Spirits” shift from “Too many spirits / In my head” to “Too many spirits / In that bottle.” Here, the theme expands to addiction and escapism as the lyrics move away from the spectral. “I Love Doing Drugs” and “Poison Well” juxtapose the euphoric highs of substance use with the darker realities of dependency.
Similarly, “Ghosts Are Weak” reveals the cyclical nature of addiction. The line “While the ghosts are weak and the drugs are strong… Because the drugs get weak and the ghosts get strong” encapsulates how unresolved emotions drive individuals to substances to escape their pain. Yet the hauntings will always return.
As drugs and alcohol lose their potency, the Devil Makes Three show how grief is not the only marker for addiction. Elsewhere on Spirits, the trio illustrate how individuals turn to substances to cope with hardships rooted in broader societal failures. “Hard Times” critiques Reaganomics. They call out the lie that wealth would trickle down rather than accumulate at the top of the social hierarchy, as it’s been doing. Later in the track, the myth of the “self-made man” is dismantled.
Similarly, in “Half As High”, the narrator’s encounters with everyday struggles are relatable as the song exposes the disconnect between promises of economic prosperity and our lived experience. Throughout Spirits, the Devil Makes Three powerfully foster empathy for those seeking ways to confront their underlying pain.
Yet, Spirits is not an absolute descent into despair. In “Lights on Me”, the mantra “I’ll be free” creates a fierce desire for liberation. MorganEve Swain’s bass pulsates to give the song a defined heartbeat, the musical iteration of the life imaged in the lyrics. Likewise, “The Gift” draws on Egyptian mythology to portray survival. Referencing Osiris, the repeated imagery of being “cut to pieces” and “brought back to life” echoes the cyclical nature of pain and healing. The protective presence of Isis in the song reinforces a crucial message: survival is possible, but it often depends on connection and support.
Accordingly, Spirits fosters a sense of collective struggle. “Fallen Champions” pays tribute to those who fought for a better life. The track specifically recognizes their fight since “history doesn’t show the fallen champions.” Meanwhile, “Divide and Conquer” critiques the divisive tactics that maintain power imbalances. Both these tracks call for collective action rather than division.
Likewise, “The Dark Gets the Best of You” urges listeners to unite against fear-mongering and the chaos caused by mob mentality. While the record may be thematically erratic at times, it powerfully illustrates how pain is unique to the individual. In this way, Spirits brings together listeners’ varied experiences to create a sense of unity in our shared struggles.
Spirits is a fascinating study in contrasts. The infectious rhythms and toe-tapping melodies encourage revelry as the cerebral lyrics illustrate poignant themes. True to the folk and Americana tradition, these songs confront life’s messy complexities while using the music to transform hardship into deeply personal and universally relatable narratives. The Devil Makes Three let listeners lose themselves in song, but not without losing sight of the deeper truths. This contrast makes Spirits such a compelling and cathartic musical experience.