Sinking Spells

It sends a black chill up my spine to see others creeping around in the same area of dark punk that I tend to lay my own head. The Sinking Spells hail from Salem, MA and were introduced to me by fellow rockers Blitzkid. I’ll tell you one thing when the guys tell you a band is worth the time to listen too and is a bit frantic about it then it is wise you listen. I did just that and could not be any happier. The Sinking Spells bring us a new EP entitled “The Devil At My Side”. It is not more then 5 songs with an intro and outro, but worth every cent spent. From the cover art to the general mix this album just oozes that New England spooky. As opposed to most others in this genre the band pulls from the hometown surroundings and leaves the vampires, zombies and splatters of blood to others. I could ramble on all day about this, but why don’t I get down to the album at hand.

I wouldn’t call this new, but it’s refreshing to see something from another side of the spectrum of dark rock. This runs in the vein of Bauhaus and the Alkaline Trio and does it well. I say Bauhaus not to much of the up front musical influence, but it is there and you can feel it. Track 1 entitled “Prelude” is an acoustic track which just smacks you right in the face if not expecting this. The album has 3 acoustic tracks and they all rock very much hard. I really love acoustic music. It is refreshing to hear diversity on an album anymore. “Cursed In Collinwood” blasts into the second spot. You will find no misfits rip offs here, thankfully. Track three is called “Gnosis” and is a faster track and just damned good stuff. Even with the speed this track is very melodic. Here comes the middle of the sandwich and the title track. Pure acoustic bliss is what we have here. Next up is “Wake at Twilight” (track 5) and is back to that stomping special blend punk rock that the Sinking Spells excrete. I really wish I could bottle that excretion and make a repellent to spray at all those mindless sheep that listen to pop punk. Track 6 is called “Bleeding Out” and is the lead single off of this album. This is one damned good song too. Finally, the outro or “Coda” is yet another short acoustic bit and so very beautiful. I really don’t want the album to end, but I suppose those Salem boys are working on something new so I hopefully won’t have to wait more then a year or so.

So to the point, go out right now and find this EP called “At the Devil’s Side” by the Sinking Spells. These guys are equal parts of Alkaline Trio, The Damned and Bob Dylan mixed all together in a vat of EVIL!!! So I suggest checking this out quite quickly before you get left in the wake of everyone else. - Black Angel Promation

It’s refreshing to hear a band that exists inside a certain genre but isn’t afraid to tweak conventions a bit. Most people hear a 200 beat per minute punk backbeat and they think sloppy musicianship and throat shredding screams passing for vocals. To each his own, but Sinking Spells certainly flies directly in the face of such an expectation.

From Salem Massachusetts, Sinking Spells is a punk band at first glance, but something much more with some close listening. They don’t, unlike many punk bands, completely ignore the conventions of songwriting, and certainly aren’t afraid of a melody or two. They certainly share more with the emotional/melodic style of bands like Jawbreaker (of which they are huge fans and even covered during their Radiobeat set) than a band like Minor Threat or Black Flag. This became clear when Rob (vocals/guitar) quoted riffs from “Wish You Were Here” and “Blackbird” while tuning up, showing musical taste that extended beyond the traditional punk spectrum.


Rob, Phil (bass/vocals), and Neil (drums) played an energetic set of their blend of punk speed, catchy chorus hooks and melodies, with few breaks in between. As with most bands played on Radiobeat, Sinking Spells are a live band. The energy of their songs is better communicated in the live performance setting than a CD, or through streaming on MySpace. They burned through four originals and a cover of Jawbreaker’s “Kiss the Bottle,” which fit in seamlessly with their own songs, which mostly came from their latest self-financed EP, The Devil at My Side (keeping with their themes of darkness and evil their band name is taken from gothic writer/illustrator Edward Gorey).

With a small east coast tour in the works, and a more extensive tour spanning the south and Midwest slated for the summer, Sinking Spells will surely be playing a venue near you soon enough.


www.myspace.com/sinkingspells

-Thom Plasse - WERS

From the eldest parts of Western settled North America come the Sinking Spells (Salem, MA). They are brandishing a particular brand of dark tinged punk that has elements of The Alkaline Trio, Jawbreaker and Bob Dylan. This is their newest EP and is just a taste of things to come. The first, fourth and seventh tracks are accoustic and the rest is just rockin out melodic punk. I suggest getting this album as soon as you can.

- Interpunk.com

he Sinking Spells from Salem, MA . conjure an EP entitled "The Devil At My Side". It looks real. How long will it last?

Passionate yet lyrical hardcore Goth rock you say? ha it is much more from this band. They hail from Salem, Massachusetts that bewitched spot swirling in the cauldron of American history.

It is also close to, but not exactly-- the environs and stomping ground for famed cult author and illustrator Edward Gorey, who is 1964 published a work of nonsense called "Sinking Spell."

Gorey, among his many talents, wrote music for the punk band The Freeze, started by Clif Hanger.

So Sinking Spells has a cool pedigree for its name. As for what that has to do with the Devil, well Gorey wrote silly macabre stories and illustrated them so expertly, that he was called to illustrate books way out of his genre such as Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, by the poet T.S. Eliot. (As a Harvard undergrad student, Grey roomed with the poet Frank O'Hara.)

This is a varied and vital piece of music that may amaze and surprise, even as one runs into the predictable. I hear Bauhaus i hear many influences, influence, oh I don't know that may only be the devil talking.

I can't make out the lyrics to be able to say whether they have anything to do with that, except that they seem to sing about their various trouble. Musically the album is quite fine. Possibly Satan has been a positive influence on their sound, just like, so the legend goes, the great blues guitarist Robert Johnson.

Multiple personalities, demons, they don't matter, the band is fun, moon and darkness fun. They deserve a break, before they have a nervous breakdown. - Punk Globe