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.”
In the Fight
Moda Spira Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To keep calm and carry on
And will you really love all of me?
When you see
The darker things that lie underneath, me
My demons are coming out, coming out, coming out
My demons are coming out, coming out, coming out
And they're so, loud
They're so loud
In the fight, when you've lost your might
To keep calm and carry on
And will I really love all of you?
When nothing's new
With the darker things that come into view of you
Your demons are coming out, coming out, coming out
Your demons are coming out, coming out, coming out
And they're so loud
They're so loud
Our demons are coming out, coming out, coming out
(In the fight, when I've lost my might)
Our demons are coming out, coming out, coming out
(To keep calm and carry on)
And they're so loud
(And will you really love all of me? When you see?)
They're so loud
(The darker things that lie underneath, me)
The song "In the Fight" by Moda Spira is a song about vulnerability and being open about one's struggles. The lyrics discuss the moments when we feel like we are losing the strength to keep going, and the fear that arises from showing the parts of ourselves that we keep hidden. The singer asks if those close to them will still love and accept them when they see the darker parts of themselves. The chorus speaks to the idea that we all have inner demons that can come out, and can be so loud that it feels impossible to ignore them.
Throughout the song, the singer acknowledges that these moments of vulnerability and struggle are a shared experience, not just something that they themselves are going through. They ask if the person they are speaking to has also felt this way, and if they will be loved and accepted through it. In this way, the song emphasizes the need for community and connection, especially during difficult times.
The repetition of the phrase "coming out" in the chorus can be interpreted in a few different ways. It could be a reference to a coming out experience regarding sexuality or gender identity, or it could refer to the idea of revealing one's true self and inner struggles to others. Regardless of interpretation, the song is ultimately about the moments when we need to be vulnerable, and have faith that those who love us will still accept us.
Line by Line Meaning
In the fight, when I've lost my might
When I struggle and have lost my strength
To keep calm and carry on
To remain composed and continue going
And will you really love all of me?
And will you accept me with all my flaws and imperfections?
When you see
When you witness
The darker things that lie underneath, me
The negative aspects or emotions that I hide beneath the surface
My demons are coming out, coming out, coming out
My inner struggles and negative feelings are surfacing
And they're so, loud
And they're overwhelming and intense
In the fight, when you've lost your might
Similarly, when you're struggling and exhausted
And will I really love all of you?
Will I still accept and love you despite your flaws?
When nothing's new
Even when I discover new negative things about you
With the darker things that come into view of you
With the negative emotions or struggles that become visible in you
Your demons are coming out, coming out, coming out
Your inner struggles and negative feelings are surfacing
Our demons are coming out, coming out, coming out
Both of our inner struggles and negative feelings are surfacing
And they're so loud
And they're overwhelming and intense
Contributed by Ellie A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
DUBA
So cool!! Love this.
Khaliah
Needed my Latifah fix this beautiful Saturday AM!!!🥰🖤
Qurida Pearson
💕 🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶 !AWESOME
Doyi
very creepy! looked like a loud exorcism.
Karina Saavedra
Guíen u urgencia