Los Angeles duo SPELLES are gearing up to release their debut album, making this the perfect time to brush up on the two soul-stirring EPs they’ve released thus far. A fusion of the talents in musicians Kathryn Baar and Luc Laurent, SPELLES elicit a haunting melodic grandiosity from their songs. Their self-titled debut EP came in 2015, the darkly spacious soundscapes conjured within it serving as an emphatic introduction to that all-enveloping aura, from the jangle-rock of “Oh, These Monsters” to the winding acoustic tones and crescendoing textures of “Out of the Canyon.”
Three years later their second EP arrived in the form of Skeleton Coast I and its blends of soulful and ecstatic ethos – echoing the kind of lavish, baroque rock in the vein of Florence and the Machine. Opening track “Dead in the Water” burst with bluesy-gospel energies as Baar once more unleashed her zealous wail, while other songs like the sensual howler “Teach Me How to Pray” and the earnest percussion gallops on “Down to the River” cemented SPELLES increased sonic kineticism.
After spending the pandemic in the studio releasing two singles in 2021, SPELLES are in the mixing process for their debut full-length album. One of the first singles was “Machete,” a booming primal track that signals further growth in the band’s larger-than-life sound. Then there was “Ghost Ship,” an epically evocative piece that completely reconceived whatever genre limitations might’ve previously placed on SPELLES. There is an ever-enlarging, cinematic breadth that presents itself within their music, one that’s owed to the overwhelming emotion they squeeze out of their songs. When their debut LP finally arrives we expect SPELLES to invoke all that ardor in breathtaking fashion, but until then keep an eye out for more spectacular music videos from the band.
Visit SPELLES website, Twitter, and Instagram to stay updated on new releases announcements.
