Milwaukee, WI’s Liminal Spirit, the cinematic doom project of multi-instrumentalist Jerry Hauppa (Northless, Ara, Deorbit), will release its debut full-length album, Unwell, on October 31. The record unfolds as a five-act narrative told through the perspectives of Phillip, Jonathan, Madeline, C., E., and The Adjudicators — a haunting, immersive experience in sound and storytelling.
The title track, “Unwell”, is streaming now on YouTube and Bandcamp.
Hauppa describes Unwell as a meditation on fear, decline, and accountability:
“The main goal was to explore some of my biggest fears,” he explains. “I’ve worked in nursing homes and they are absolutely miserable places. Losing control of my faculties — mental and physical decline — and the pondering of the unknown are all lingering fears. I wanted to develop sympathy for a character with dementia, only to reveal he’s a monster who’s done horrific things he can’t remember.”
Using microtonal guitars to create unsettling textures, Hauppa channels the disorientation of a deteriorating mind, weaving themes of spiritual salvation and moral reckoning throughout the album. The opening track reinterprets Jim Reeves’ 1962 classic “Welcome to My World”, setting the stage for Phillip’s descent as he seeks peace and absolution, only to meet judgment instead.
“I wanted the music to reflect the contemplation of a sick and addled person,” Hauppa adds. “Even as memory fades, you’re still on the hook for your deeds.”
Unwell follows two previous Liminal Spirit releases, expanding its cinematic doomgaze sound into something both intimate and terrifying. Critics have described the project as:
“Darkly progressive.” – The Obelisk
“Progressive industrial doomgaze.” – Heavy Blog Is Heavy
Tracklist:
- Admittance
- Unwell
- Visiting Day
- EOLC
- A Better Place
FFO: Jesu, Cynic, Confessor, Swans, Skepticism
Pre-order: liminalspirit.bandcamp.com/album/unwell
With Unwell, Liminal Spirit transforms dread, decay, and the search for redemption into a cinematic and deeply human reflection on the fragility of the mind, and the inescapable weight of the past.