Lø Spirit is living proof that sometimes the worst moments in life can unexpectedly lead to something bigger. An outspoken advocate for OCD, PTSD, MCAS, and anxiety, the Los Angeles-based songwriter and producer turned to music as a personal coping mechanism five years ago.
Joshua Landry–the man behind Lø Spirit–first gained attention on TikTok under the name SadSongsOnly through reimagined covers of massive scene hits like My Chemical Romance’s “Helena” and Highly Suspect’s “My Name is Human.” He has since shifted to releasing original music as Lø Spirit with his first EP Mind Of Mine in 2022. In sharing his most vulnerable moments with the world, his art became more than a sanctuary for himself. It began to resonate with others experiencing similar struggles, cultivating a strong global community built on reflection, connection and support in the face of darkness.
His debut album, Isn’t Life Beautiful–released April 17–turns the daily struggles of chronic illness and mental health conditions into a beautiful reminder that everything happens for a reason. “Everything that I have now was born out of all of the worst moments of my life,” Landry tells Melodic Magazine. “The title [of the album] is more or less ironic. I never expected that by getting sick and trying to heal and understand myself and do the work by writing songs that I would’ve ended up walking into my best life.”
In addition to his growing catalog, Landry has written and produced for some notable artists in alternative music, such as Motionless in White, Catch Your Breath, and The Devil Wears Prada and reached the #1 spot as a songwriter and producer for artists like Papa Roach and The Funeral Portrait. These collaborations allow him to encourage others to dig into themselves and write from a place of authenticity. “I love the conversations that are born out of these sessions,” he says. “They might not even know what’s actually important to them because they’re not conscious of it, but I’ve spent the past several years of my life in therapy, so I’m very conscious of what’s important to me. When somebody says something and it holds weight, it hits me heavy.”
Those conversations, however, don’t end when the sessions do, but instead they follow Landry back into his own artistry, allowing him to push the limits of his identity as a musician and person. “There is a piece of ego with everyone that makes music, whether you want to admit it or not,” he says. “I have to allow [those I collaborate with] to actually dig into me as a person rather than me being in the seat of digging into somebody else.”
That shift in perspective ultimately lays the groundwork for Isn’t Life Beautiful. Across its 13 tracks, the album digs into the real, defining moments that often surface during these deeply personal creative exchanges. While this honest vulnerability fuels his creative flow, it’s not always the simplest task. “The most difficult part of the [writing] process was making sure that the entire album was actually based on truth for me and that the entire album was a true reflection of who I am rather than an attempt to bait and pander to an audience,” he says.
The willingness to examine his inner world doesn’t stop when the writing and music is finished, but instead it extends into how he shows up publicly, too. Though a prominent advocate for mental health online, navigating which pieces of himself to put on public display never stops being scary for Landry. The artificial nature of social media generates constant pressure to maintain a happy facade while fighting an unforgiving algorithm and mind at the same time. “It’s important for people to be more vocal about the cracks and the things that they deal with,” he says. “Even though I’m embarrassed about a lot of things that I deal with and about not being perfect all the time, it still feels like a calling in a weird way.”
With this mindset, Landry took to social media last November to open up about the uncomfortable reality he’s faced behind closed doors. His Instagram statement detailed his fears of perception, explaining that sharing content and promoting his music felt heavier than normal in this mental state of isolation, loneliness, and defeat. “I still feel like, ‘Oh, I shouldn’t talk about this today because it doesn’t look very rockstar of me…”
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