There was an Instagram video of Spirit Mother mixing their new album, Thistle, with guitarist/vocalist Armand Lance holding his and violinist/vocalist SJ Lance‘s new baby in his arms, and I bet that’s gonna be a trip for him to go back and watch in a few years. Congrats to them on said baby, by the way, and also on getting an album done alongside keeping alive a little pile of human goo. Also they moved to Oregon. I guess it’s been a busy time since they put out Fall 2024’s Trails (review here).

Their third LP overall, Thistle I believe will mark their first outing with second violinist/vocalist Mia Rose, as well as bassist Michael Fenris. Former Kadabra drummer Chase Howard played on the album, I’m pretty sure, but isn’t listed in the lineup below or in the photo above, which makes me think it was kind of a fill-in capacity. With the baby, I’m curious how much touring Spirit Mother will do to support Thistle, but I’m excited for the record anyhow, considering how rich this band’s sound already was in their last incarnation. Hopefully I’ll have more on it between now and September.

From the PR wire:

SPIRIT MOTHER Announce New Studio Album “Thistle”; Out September 4, 2026 Via Sound Of Liberation Records

US heavy rock outfit SPIRIT MOTHER have announced the release of their third studio album, Thistle, due out on September 4, 2026 via Sound Of Liberation Records. Written, self-recorded and self-produced in the creaking attic of Armand and SJ Lance’s century-old cabin in the high desert of Burns, Oregon, the album captures the spirit of the remote landscape the band now calls home.

A direct reflection of life in Eastern Oregon’s vast and windswept outback, Thistle sees SPIRIT MOTHER fully realizing the sonic direction hinted at on its acclaimed predecessor Trails. Combining the band’s signature dynamic intensity, fuzz-drenched heaviness and grunge-infused rock with a haunting sense of Americana melancholy, the album offers their most immersive and personal work to date. From blistering desert horizons and abandoned ghost towns to the sounds of rattlesnakes, wild horses and open prairie, Thistle translates the environment surrounding the band into a rich and cinematic musical experience.

Further details, including the album’s first single and pre-order launch, will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Thistle Track Listing:
1. Dog Machine
2. Violent Son
3. Coat Of Arms
4. Narrows
5. Prelude
6. Locomotive Breath
7. Good Faith
8. Crux
9. Ephemeral
10. Stranger, You Are
11. Odetta
12. Thistle
13. Transient

Originally formed in Long Beach, California and now based in the rural Pacific Northwest, SPIRIT MOTHER have carved out a distinctive place within the modern heavy rock landscape. Their sound blends folk-informed songwriting, atmospheric strings, haunting vocal harmonies and crushing rock dynamics into a style that is both expansive and deeply emotional.

Following the release of their sophomore album Trails, the band spent 2024 and 2025 relentlessly touring throughout the United States and Europe, including appearances at Desertfest New York, Levitation Festival, Rock Im Wald, Blue Moon Festival, Berg Herzberg, Festival Kult and Hoflärm. Along the way, they have shared stages with acclaimed acts such as All Them Witches, Graveyard, King Buffalo, Weedeater, Acid King, Melvins, Blackwater Holylight and LA Witch.

Returning home after extensive touring, the band dedicated themselves to writing and recording Thistle entirely on their own terms. The result is an album that captures both the isolation and beauty of their surroundings while pushing SPIRIT MOTHER’s unique blend of heavy rock, Americana and psychedelic influences further than ever before.

SPIRIT MOTHER is:
Armand Lance – Guitar, Vocals
SJ Lance – Violin, Vocals
Michael Fenris – Bass
Mia Rose – Violin, Vocals

https://www.spiritmotherofficial.com/
https://spiritmother.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/spiritmother
https://www.instagram.com/spiritmotherband/
https://www.facebook.com/SpiritMotherBand/

https://shop.soundofliberation.com/
https://www.soundofliberation.com/
https://www.instagram.com/soundofliberation/
https://www.facebook.com/Soundofliberation/

Spirit Mother, Songs From the Basin (2025)

Spirit Mother were in Europe last summer to tour, and that stint included shows with the likes of King Buffalo and Colour Haze. They released Songs From the Basin (review here) as a brief glimpse at their capacity for reinterpreting material as well as demonstrating the root from which at least some of their songs spring — acoustic strum and melodymaking. After putting out their second album, Trails (review here), through Heavy Psych Sounds in Fall 2024, the band announced this past December they’d signed to Sound of Liberation Records for their third LP, which is apparently called Thistle and will be released sometime later this year.

The band posted some shots from recording — you can see one below (credit to David Jacob) — and you’ll note Chase Howard joining the lineup. You might know Howard from playing with Kadabra in Washington, but that band just a couple weeks ago announced he was leaving. I’m not sure if he’s permanently in Spirit Mother or was doing it as a session thing, but he’s a killer drummer anyhow and isn’t somebody likely to make your band worse. They thank him for “stepping in,” which says not-permanent to me, but I don’t want to read too much into it and feel dumb later, so there you go.

I have no word on a release date or the tour plans and obviously those would be the two foremost questions in mind, apart from “can I hear it yet?,” which I guess is obvious. The rest, when I see, I’ll say.

Have at it:

Hello friends! Our 3rd album “Thistle” will be out this Fall with @soundofliberationrecords 🥀 recorded at SJ and Armand’s home in the High Desert of Eastern Oregon. The band came out for a week of tracking and it was one for the damn 📚 S/o to @drumsplaychase for stepping in for these sessions and CRUSHING the drums! Here’s a few shots from our week of recording, more soon.

📸: @dave.nyhc

https://www.spiritmotherofficial.com/
https://spiritmother.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/spiritmother
https://www.instagram.com/spiritmotherband/
https://www.facebook.com/SpiritMotherBand/

https://shop.soundofliberation.com/
https://www.soundofliberation.com/
https://www.instagram.com/soundofliberation/
https://www.facebook.com/Soundofliberation/

Spirit Mother, Songs From the Basin (2025)