Ross Farrar has been leading the great California punk band Ceremony for many years, and now he’s leading two great California punk bands. In 2020, Farrar unveiled his new band Spice, which also includes Ceremony drummer Jake Casarotti, as well as members of bands like Creative Adult and Sabertooth Zombie. Spice’s self-titled 2020 debut album was great, and the followed it last year with a two-song single, “A Better Treatment” b/w “Everyone Gets In,” that might be even better. Today, Spice have announced the impending release of their second album, and that’s exciting news.

Spice recorded their sophomore album Viv with Deafheaven/Jeff Rosenstock/Gulch collaborator Jack Shirley, and it’s got a mixing and mastering job from Sam Pura, the Basement/Self Defense Family collaborator who recorded Spice’s first LP. In a press release, Ross Farrar says, “We all got in a room, and this is what came out.” Some bands just don’t need convoluted origin stories.

“Any Day Now,” the first single from Viv, is a monster. Spice’s latest track is built on huge, towering, oceanic riffs, but it’s got a wiry power-pop catchiness at its core. That mixture of majesty and melody is a tough thing to capture, and “Any Day Now” reminds me of Sugar, which is high praise. Spice shot their own video for “Any Day Now,” and it’s a sort of verite portrait of pro skater Tony Walker. Below, listen to “Any Day Now” and check out the Viv tracklist.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Recovery”
02 “Any Day Now”
03 “Ashes In The Birdbath”
04 “Threnody”
05 “Melody Drive”
06 “Dining Out”
07 “Live Scene”
08 “Vivid”
09 “Bad Fade”
10 “Climbing Down The Ladder”

Viv is out 5/20 on Dais Records. Pre-order it here.