Graduation Speech – Maintenance Required

Graduation Speech, the solo project of Aspiga frontman Kevin Day, defines itself against its full band counterpart as the lower key and more intimate of the two.  While Aspiga draws energy from the world of early 00’s pop punk, Graduation Speech is the product of alt-indie of the same era.  Consisting of five easily listening tracks guided by a combination of Day’s nasally falsetto and sparingly employed instrumental accompaniment, the project’s latest album, Maintenance Required, combines an assortment of introspection and worldly reflection.

The album kicks off with the surprisingly energetic combination of wiry guitar chords and a blanket of brisk strumming.  The two intertwine and overlap between choruses while Day eases back on the vocals, solely establishing the track’s rhythm in the absence of drums or other percussion.  “I’ve got air inside my lungs, incase you need it,” sings Day in an offering of support and guidance during the track’s final moments. “Ourselves” follows eagerly with the chorus line, “bring us back to ourselves,” sung in the vein of a less ominous Billy Corgan.  Meanwhile, “Small Apartment” and “Love and Patience” layer on additional ambience and production tones more akin to the smooth synthy indie stylings of Abandoned Pools.  The piano-style keyboard notes twinkle and linger like spektors at night, each living briefly before fading into the next.  “Shedding Myself” exemplifies Day’s patience in the track’s mid-song acoustic interlude, acting like an engine shifted into neutral before gently revving back to life.  

Day’s sense of pacing is what allows Maintenance Required to fall into an enjoyable pattern.  The album isn’t the type of head turning experience in which each track “wows” you one after another, but rather, Graduation Speech keeps you satisfied with layer upon layer of engaging instrumental musicianship and thoughtfully penned songwriting.  Maintenance Required provides a quick and simple seventeen minutes that offer up an enjoyable diversion for fans of Aspiga between releases.