Spells – Loose Change Vol. 1 (Snappy Little Numbers)

Today I wanted to present the second album by the Spells that also serves as a collection of their previous, out-of-print, hard-to-find works. If you paid attention to my writings this week, you probably already heard their debut release I wrote about a couple of days ago. It’s an outstanding full-length album released by profoundly talented musicians from Denver, Colorado. I can’t even remember when I experienced the more cleverly combined amalgam of music genres such as Staying In > Going Out. Thankfully, Snappy Little Numbers provided the Loose Change Vol. 1, where the band remastered and upgraded sonic weaponry even more. Empowered by the experience, brilliant ideas, and exceptional musicianship, Spells will immediately become your go-to band when you need some excellent power pop-infused punk rock music.

Loose Change Vol. 1 delivers all the music genres Spells are known for, but this remastered vinyl offers much more energy, dynamics, and aggression. You’ll notice their approach to melodic punk rock, pop-punk, garage rock, and power pop is nearly the same, but they undoubtedly tweaked some characteristics of their sound. There’s also a thick, vividly hearable layer of eighties hardcore punk lurking around, so this set of songs could serve as a soundtrack for a skateboarding session. Perhaps some segments will remind you of some Ramonescore music, and you wouldn’t be far from the truth. Some parts indeed resemble something Ramonescore bands would eventually record, but the way Spells do it sounds much better. Just like Staying In > Going Out, the band plays on diversity, and you can expect the same formula at the Loose Change Vol. 1, but with more ideas and aggression during the entire album.

Loose Change Vol. 1. wouldn’t sound this good without excellent musicianship provided by the entire band. Each composition carries a perfect structure based upon energetic verses, powerful choruses, catchy accentuations, and other details that will satisfy even the pickiest fans of the beforementioned genres. You can even hear how they revolutionized their sound by simply listening to this collection from scratch to finish. Loose Change Vol. 1 will leave you with an impression Spells don’t have any bad tracks. Even the cover songs sound much better than the originals. Therefore, if extremely catch four-chord progressions, aggressive riffs, cleverly arranged low-end tones, profoundly dynamic drumming, uplifting singalongs, and fierce lead vocals are something you’re looking for, this comprehensive collection of Spells’ earlier works will do wonders for your listening apparatus. Head to Snappy Little Numbers for more information about ordering this punk rock gem.