Spirit Josh, the Toronto-based indie folk act, released Road of Life on July 3, 2026, a record of summery tracks with standout lyrics, melodies and multipart harmonies. They tell Fuzzer the story behind the record, what’s been inspiring them, and what’s next.
Spirit Josh’s fourth record, Road of Life marks a creative shift for the band and comes with an unexpected origin story.
The band is currently comprised of Matt Jonn Lewis (songwriter, vocals, guitar, harmonica), Sam Szigeti (songwriter, vocals, guitar), Alex Nunes (studio engineer, drums, guitar, piano) and Riley Hunt (vocals, guitar, mandolin), with support from collaborators like Sara May Jarvie-Clark (violin), Alanna Jenish (fiddle) and Kyle Topolnisky (bass).
They identify as spirit country, straddling indie folk and alternative country and channeling the spirit of Matt’s late brother Josh.
Originally a solo outlet for Matt, the band has grown with its additional members evolving their sound along the way. Road of Life is the first record where the songwriting partnership between Matt and Sam is in full motion.
Road of Life
Road of Life is easy summer listening with mostly up-beat tracks, reminiscent of artists like Alex G. The melodies are catchy with earwormy lines like: “Get in the water, don’t make me wait / Tell me everything, don’t hesitate,” from the title track “Road of Life”.
The album came from songs that Sam and Matt had been writing on the side while working on another record, which Matt describes as a heavier, winter record, that they were re-recording a fourth time. “We were growing so much together through the process that by the time we’d get to the end of recording it, we’d realize that we’d gotten better… At some point we just decided we were tired of being trapped by this other album we were doing, and we should just get in the studio and record this one that we’ve been writing and making,” Matt says.
The songs came together in about a month, which Riley attributes to the relief of allowing themselves to work on this project instead and how well they worked together. Matt explains: “In the first few takes, we’d get the song, and then adding things was feeling really easy so it all just kind of came together.”
The way it came together bled into its themes of going through a journey and growing relationships, which began to emerge organically.
On Inspirations/ Influences
“Obviously, you know, we grew up listening to The Beatles,” says Sam, commenting on The Beatles sticker on his guitar. “I’m sure everybody here did, but I think as we got older and worked together more as a band, we started really seeing ourselves in those bands that we grew up listening to like The Band or Neil Young or The Beatles… Maybe not on a musical skill level but just on a personal level,” he says, and adds that the 2021 documentary series The Beatles: Get Back was eye opening for them.
Alex adds that Adrianne Lenker and Big Thief informed the way they approached recording and the overall vibe they wanted to capture. For the most part, tracking was done live off the floor, often via tape.
On Recording Themselves
The band has always recorded themselves. “When we first started, we were doing it on cassette tapes and in our apartments,” Alex says. For this record, they worked at studio.b by Breathe Entertainment in Toronto, and it was their first time working in a real studio environment. “We kind of figured out how to use the room, what configurations sounded best and how to sort of find a middle ground between getting things sounding good and getting a cool vibe together where we’re sort of able to see each other and be next to each other,” he explains.
Plans for the Next Record
They have a title for the record: Trying to Feel Beautiful, which they intend to come back to later this year. The name is derived from its somewhat painful creation process. “It sort of makes sense because that’s all it’s been trying to do,” Matt says.
The Meaning Behind “Love Song”
“Love Song” is a feel-good banger that seems to contemplate a relationship that the narrator keeps coming back to, forgetting “what [they] know best / About the time, forgiveness, distance and pain.” Matt says: “That song’s kind of about how annoying it was to finish that other album when all I wanted to do is write these like happier songs.”
Find band updates, including upcoming shows, on their Instagram @spirit.josh.
Find Road of Life on all major streaming services. You can also support them by purchasing their albums on Bandcamp.
