The songs on Moda Spira evolved during a period of intense emotional turmoil that led Phillips to a greater understanding of her personal and musical journey. “Loving someone has deep challenges, because we’re all a mess, but it’s a worthy path. The songs flowed out of a scary, hard, complicated, wonderful, growing and loving season. I’d capture ideas on a voice memo, or record melodies walking down the street, whenever I had a moment of inspiration. After two years, I had a full record.”
As the music evolved, Phillips began collaborating with producer and multi-instrumentalist Jordan Brooke Hamlin (Indigo Girls, Lucy Wainwright). Together, they crafted arrangements and finished writing songs that embraced ‘90s R&B, ‘80s pop and cinematic indie rock. They stayed open to finding new sounds that moved them. “We discovered a lot of new sounds and techniques,” Phillips says. “Some were terrible; some were amazing,” she laughs. “We kept the amazing stuff.”
The songs on Moda Spira follow a relationship as it moves through infatuation, passion, familiarity and tribulation, finally emerging triumphant, infused with a renewed belief and hope in the growing process of learning to love yourself and others. “She Whispers” opens the album with warm, wistful piano tones and the gentle heartbeat of a kick drum, suggesting the calm before the storm. Jordan’s aggressive guitar and a funky percussion loop back a vocal full of hopeful melancholy as Phillips embraces the light slowly emerging from the darkness. “Love is the light no shadow can touch,” Phillips says. “It’s the faith that the darkness can not consume you.”
“In the Fight” describes the dawning realization that intimacy, despite it joys, is never an easy path. “Opening yourself exposes everything, good and bad,” Phillips says. “You have to decide how to reveal the things that often go unsaid.” This tension is expressed by a swirling, multi-tracked vocal, chiming piano and cinematic washes of synthesizer. A thumping, hypnotic kick drum loop gets more and more funky as Phillips takes the song home with a fervid vocal. Ominous keyboards support Phillips on “Playback,” the darkest song on the album. “When you’re in conflict, you have to be careful about the words you say,” Phillips says. “You can apologize, but can’t unsay what has been said.” The song grows chaotic and intense as it progresses, mimicking the frustration of a quarrel, with waves of competing vocals and drum loops. The smooth groove of “Bet on Me” pays tribute to Sade and other R&B icons, with muted guitar, subtle bass and bubbly toms. “I wanted to get a sonic sensibility that referenced some of my favorite artists,” Phillips says. “I especially love Jordan’s bluesy, B.B. King style guitar solo on the coda.”
Near the end of the album, Phillip’s hushed piano drifts into “Stillness,” a classically flavored instrumental that provides a moment to reflect and absorb the emotions she’s been stirring up. The slowly unfolding, waltz-like sonata has a soothing effect, suggesting the effortless slide into peaceful, dreamless sleep.
“Shaking the Walls” is pure pop, the album’s most jubilant track. Its dreamy verses build to a soaring bridge, marked by multi-tracked, call and response vocals, accented by live tom toms that suggest the crumbling of the walls that keep lovers from making genuine connections. Phillips shows her gospel roots on “The Hard Way.” Her hushed vocal, and sustained notes from her Juno Arp, cast a hypnotic spell, as she slips into a soft moan to express feelings beyond words. The track concludes with her multi-tracked vocals, mimicking the ecstasy of a Sunday morning choir, promising unconditional support, even in life’s darkest moments. “We’d like to believe we don’t have to learn life’s lessons the hard way,” Phillips says, “but nobody’s perfect. We all learn the hard way.”
Phillips has a long resume that includes time as a solo artist and work with Page CXVI, a band that reinterprets traditional hymns, the indie rock band Autumn Film and Sola-Mi, an experimental trio. She has produced albums for indie artists, including A Boy & His Kite, helping them place “Cover Your Tracks” on the soundtrack for Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part II. Her songs have been featured on One Tree Hill, The Gates, Lifetime Films and the film The House at the End of the Street. She’s also composed incidental music for MTV and E! Moda Spira is her return to solo performing. She plans to support the album with selected dates, both alone and with multi-media pop up shows, featuring video, dancers, live painting and other surprises.
“Moda Spira is my first solo venture in ten years,” Phillips says. “The songs are all dear to me, so I gave myself permission to be vulnerable. If you’re feeling down and lost, this record will let you know that you’re not alone and help you to keep moving forward.”
Bang
Moda Spira Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, everything it changed
In that moment
It went off like a bang
Blood coursed through my veins
When those fatal words were spoken
That I was not your chosen
It went off like a bang
How do you explain
What it feels like to lose?
How do you explain
What it feels like?
To lose the one you love
When no words can be spoken
To fix what's been broken
How do you explain?
Well you pulled the trigger
I didn't know that you would ever
Pull the trigger
I didn't know that you would ever
Well you pulled the trigger
I didn't know that you would ever
Pull that trigger
I can't believe that you would ever, ever, ever
Bang, bang, bang them
Bang, bang, bang them
Bang, bang, bang them
Bang, bang, bang them
Bang, bang, bang them
Bang, bang, bang them
How do you explain? (bang, bang)
How do you explain? (bang, bang)
In "Bang," Moda Spira (a.k.a. Latifah Alattas) sings about the sudden, jarring moment when her relationship abruptly ends. She compares this moment to a gunshot, something that goes off with explosive force and causes everything to change irreparably. She describes the physical sensation of adrenaline coursing through her veins as she receives the fatal news that she is no longer "chosen" by her partner.
The lyrics also express a sense of confusion and helplessness in the aftermath of this sudden break-up. The refrain "How do you explain?" is repeated multiple times, suggesting that there are no adequate words to describe the pain and loss that come with the end of a relationship. The verses express disbelief and betrayal ("Well you pulled the trigger / I didn't know that you would ever"), highlighting the shattered trust and emotional damage caused by this break-up.
Overall, "Bang" is a powerful meditation on the sudden, devastating nature of heartbreak, and the ways in which it can alter our entire perception of the world. The song's use of violent imagery adds to its emotional impact, painting a vivid picture of a relationship ending with a violent act that leaves both partners reeling.
Line by Line Meaning
It went off like bang
Everything changed suddenly and dramatically
Oh, everything it changed
Everything was different after that moment
In that moment
Referring to the sudden change that occurred
It went off like a bang
The change was sudden and explosive
Blood coursed through my veins
Referring to the physical response to shock or stress
When those fatal words were spoken
Referring to the moment of realization or revelation
That I was not your chosen
Referring to rejection or disappointment
How do you explain?
Asking a rhetorical question about something difficult to describe or understand
Well you pulled the trigger
Referring to someone else's actions that caused the change
I didn't know that you would ever
Referring to surprise or disbelief
Pull the trigger
Referring to someone else's actions that caused the change
I can't believe that you would ever, ever, ever
Expressing disbelief or shock
Bang, bang, bang them
Repeating a phrase to emphasize or reinforce a feeling
How do you explain? (bang, bang)
Repeating a question to emphasize or reinforce a feeling
Contributed by Xavier M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.