Last updated: 5 hours ago
Arriving directly from a zone between dream and waking, the fourth album from Spell is here to weave its potent magick. "Tragic Magic" sees the Vancouver outfit honing their approach to seductive effect.
The turbulent two-year period following their triumphant third album Opulent Decay has steeled the resolve of a band who always operated according to their own co-ordinates: “These strange times have encouraged us to strip away a lot of bullshit to reach a more essential, purer version of what Spell is” reckons Cam Mesmer.
This also involved the band becoming a duo for the process. “Tragic Magic” was written and recorded entirely as a collaboration between brothers Cam and Al (Lester). “We couldn’t be happier about the result,” says Cam. “The identity of Spell came into sharp focus as it was always intended to be.”
This becomes clear when confronting Tragic Magic; the songcraft is steeped in the atmosphere of the arcane, yet the hooks are more razor-sharp than ever as ten occult-tinged anthems seamlessly marry majestic bombast and otherworldly allure with gritty resonance.
Whilst influences like the esoteric charge of Blue Öyster Cult and the elemental expansions of Camel and King Crimson are wont to drift through these crepuscular melodies, Spell are as likely to be influenced by the life-affirming energy of ‘60s Motown as the ethereal dimensions of Cocteau Twins, or the strident woe of Candlemass.
The turbulent two-year period following their triumphant third album Opulent Decay has steeled the resolve of a band who always operated according to their own co-ordinates: “These strange times have encouraged us to strip away a lot of bullshit to reach a more essential, purer version of what Spell is” reckons Cam Mesmer.
This also involved the band becoming a duo for the process. “Tragic Magic” was written and recorded entirely as a collaboration between brothers Cam and Al (Lester). “We couldn’t be happier about the result,” says Cam. “The identity of Spell came into sharp focus as it was always intended to be.”
This becomes clear when confronting Tragic Magic; the songcraft is steeped in the atmosphere of the arcane, yet the hooks are more razor-sharp than ever as ten occult-tinged anthems seamlessly marry majestic bombast and otherworldly allure with gritty resonance.
Whilst influences like the esoteric charge of Blue Öyster Cult and the elemental expansions of Camel and King Crimson are wont to drift through these crepuscular melodies, Spell are as likely to be influenced by the life-affirming energy of ‘60s Motown as the ethereal dimensions of Cocteau Twins, or the strident woe of Candlemass.
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