Album premiere: SPELLS || Past Our Prime

Today, we are thrilled to offer you the chance to listen to SPELLS’ third LP Past Our Prime one week ahead of its release. You can find the stream at the bottom of the post.

At the core of Past Our Prime lies a tension between a band that exudes hunger, inspiration, and pride, while also being acutely aware that life is catching up on them – hence the album’s title. “We were all past our primes before the band even started. With that being said, we’ve done our best to make the most out of being in such a fun band later in our lives,” explains guitarist Chuck Coffey. “Sometimes I think that [3 studio albums in an eleven-year career] doesn’t sound like that much, but then I remember all the singles and EP’s and collection albums and I can’t believe we ever had the energy or motivation to do any of that.” [post continues below]

The new LP proves there is still a lot of mileage left in the tank for SPELLS. It is a lively and energetic affair that captures the essence of their live performances. SPELLS undeniably are a tight knit unit that, with joined forces, becomes something greater and more impactful than the sum of its individual parts – not unlike a fireworks display orchestrated by a bunch of self-professed amateurs who set their own rules. The punk rock is raw, unfiltered on Past Our Prime and comes with a guaranteed good time. SPELLS often describe themselves as vacation rock and garage punk, but recently embraced the label of “hardcore for dorks.” “We try to prove the accuracy of the “hardcore for dorks” tag with every live show we play and any new music we put out.”

I spoke with Coffey about the sound of the new record and how it compares to what came before. He explains: “There has been a natural progression to our sound over the years, but we’ve pretty much operated the same way the whole time.  We like that we haven’t made the same album twice and that was certainly a goal with “Past Our Prime”.  Having a new band member (Dusk Monarch) added a fresh spark in the studio and we also split the album recording into two separate sessions a few months apart, which was nice from a scheduling standpoint.  We were able to approach things more leisurely and if there’s anything this band enjoys, it’s leisure.”

Well, I hope that SPELLS’ definition of leisure includes performing, because the songs are Past Our Prime just scream to be played on stages worldwide.

Past Our Prime is out April 11th through three US labels (Snappy Little Numbers, Big Neck Records, and Rad Girlfriend Records), and two European labels (Keep It A Secret Records (Germany) and Shield Recordings (The Netherlands)). Stream and pre-order now!

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Shield Recordings || SLN || Keep It A Secret || Rad Girlfriend || Big Neck