Angry Spells – Burn CS (Tarantula Tapes)

Today, I will talk about another great cassette, published by Tarantula Tapes at nearly the end of 2020. Burn is a debut material by Angry Spells, a self-proclaimed witchy punk band that combines all the best affinities of punk rock with a fuzziness of the nineties grunge sound. This tape includes six blistering compositions that serve more like an EP release than a full-length album, but believe me, these songs are more than enough. The first thing that caught my eyes is a meaningful cover artwork consisting of three girls wearing ski masks, while the molotov cocktail floats on a black cloud in front of them. The background includes the sun rising on the horizon, so the entire cover artwork represents women’s emancipation and the rise of feminism. Such a meaningful illustration that perfectly goes with their music.

Right with the initial beats of this material, Angry Spells hit directly between the eyes with powerful shoutouts, striking three-chord melodies, and robust rhythmic segments. Lead vocals are delivering relentless screams, shouts, but you’ll also stumble upon some clean melodic chants along the way. This particular singing style marvelously pairs with the dirty sounding chords that are liberating proper dosages of distortion to the atmosphere. The band works flawlessly without the bass guitar, and at some points, you’ll not miss the bass guitar at all. Stable drumming performance keeps both guitars in line and contributes to their music with generous amounts of aggression. Everything about this band is perfect in my book, so you will instantly fall in love with their punk rock tunes.

Angry Spells combine an aggressive approach to punk rock, hardcore punk, riot grrrl, and grunge throughout the entire recording. There’s something about their music that strongly resembles the early nineties grunge and punk rock scene. If you’re looking out for a more precise comparison, Angry Spells sounds like Fast Times, Babies In Toyland, Bikini Kill, L7, Lunachicks, The Gits, Hole, or any other band that combined intensity with powerful punk rock music. You don’t want to miss out on this band by any chance. Their cassette comes in a limited edition of 50 copies. Half is made in solid red and the other half is made in transparent red. Head over to the Tarantula Tapes Bandcamp page for more detailed information about ordering.