New York City’s Spaer's New Single “The Express”
New York City’s Spaer, the solo project of Psymon Spine co-founder Peter Spears, is excited to announce his signing to Brooklyn-based indie label, Vinegar Hill Sound Records. Heralding the news is the announcement of his new EP, Lessons and Nonsense, which arrives August 20, 2026. “The Express” emerges today, previewing the explorative 6-track EP. Born from Spears' early days living in Bushwick, the track captures the gut-punch frustration of watching your train sail past without stopping. The song spent over a decade taking shape, arriving at a propulsive, hypnotic bassline that collides with layered harmonies and a second half that veers headlong into swirling, effects-drenched psychedelia.
Speaking about the first single, Peter shares, “I wrote the first version of this song something like 12 years ago. The synth bass that drives the entire first half of the song was originally played on an acoustic guitar and doubled with tuned bells. Over the next decade, it slowly evolved, the most drastic evolution being when I brought it to my bandmates from Psymon Spine, and it was suggested that I make the guitar melody the bassline. I made the change, but the song was still deemed too unlistenable for Psymon Spine, so with nothing to lose, I kept pushing it further. Besides juxtaposing the relentless bassline with Brian Wilson-esque vocal harmonies and pushing the second half deeper into the psych rock world, I dug out my old 404 and decided to learn it properly. It follows the anguish and patterns of despair, hope, pleading, and hatred that are accompanied by waiting for the J train, seeing one in the distance, celebrating, then being forced to watch as it blows past you in the express track.”
Lessons & Nonsense is an EP that sweats the small stuff — finding entire worlds in overlooked corners of nature, relationships, and the mundane absurdity of everyday life. Sonically, it draws freely from psych rock, trip-hop, folk, and pop without feeling beholden to any of them, layering lush vocal harmonies over exploding drums, warped samples, and finger-picked acoustic guitar cutting through synth-heavy soundscapes. The songs span years of creative evolution, and throughout, Spaer holds beauty and brutality, humor and sincerity, hope and cynicism in the same open palm.
